BUILDING EQUITY: AMPLIFY SUMMER LEARNING

Mission

The Urban Libraries Council has spent 50 years enriching communities by strengthening and promoting the value of libraries as essential public assets.

ULC provides a forum for library leaders to share best practices and innovative ideas that inspire programs that support 21st-century learning, a strong economy and an active democracy. ULC programs are recognized for creating new frameworks that invigorate public libraries and their communities.

Urban Libraries Council

• COVID-19 learning loss

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• Summer Slide

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• Racial inequities and historically excluded youth

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• 3 million youth missing from school

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• The Leaky STEM pipeline

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• Urgent need for STEM leaders

Urgency and Opportunity of the Moment

National Partners

Goals

• Target historically excluded (e.g., based on race/ethnicity, gender, income, ability) and disengaged middle-school youth to drive deeper equitable outcomes.

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• Accelerate libraries’ pivot from summer reading to summer learning.

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• Build the capacity of the public library staff to deliver high quality and intentional STEM programming.

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• Develop relationships and partnerships with other educational organizations in the local learning ecosystem to leverage resources.

• Open to all public libraries in the United States

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• Selection of 20-25 libraries as part of a cohort

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• Monthly cohort meetings from fall 2021- summer 2023
• Fall 2021 through Spring 2022 – planning and goal setting for Summer 2022
• Summer 2022 – implementation
• Fall 2022 through Summer 2023 – cohort reflection, planning and goal setting for Summer 2023/Planning cycle and implementation of National Summer Learning Challenge
• Fall 2023 – final cohort reflection and wrap-up

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Project Details

• Have fun!

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• Embrace a Growth Mindset

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• Identify a local STEM partner

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• Engage in cohort meetings/trainings

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• Develop summer learning plans

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• Implement STEM in summer learning with middle school youth

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• Report-out on planning and implementation

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• Contribute to ULC national resources

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• Attend 2022 cohort convening

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• Participate in National Summer Learning Challenge

Expectations

• Respond to questions about intended goals

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• Will need letter of support from library CEO/Director

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• Timeline
• Application opens Wednesday, October 20
• Applications closes Friday, November 12
• Selection determined by end of November
• Cohort starts in December

Application Process

Questions

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Contact

Tandra Turner, Director of Strategic Initiatives

tturner@urbanlibraries.org