Austin, TX (PRWEB) October 13, 2015
The Andy Roddick Foundation, with its focus on enriching the lives of underserved young people, today recapped its second Summer Learning Program, which provided 6 weeks of a fun, enriching “Around the World” theme programming for 91 students of Pecan Springs Elementary School. The Foundation continues its mission to work with the community to expand opportunities for young people to learn, thrive and succeed with after school programming for more than 200 students at the school.
The second year of the Andy Roddick Foundation’s Summer Learning Program expanded on the success of the first year, adding a week, building in a theme that focused on a different continent each week, and growing to support 91 students, up from 78 in year one. The students went on a virtual tour of the globe, traveling to different continents each week where the STEM, sports, literacy, arts and community service activities the students engaged in all related to those continents’ countries and cultures.
Once again, results were resoundingly positive from students, parents and families, teachers and staff at the school, and Summer Learning Program staff and volunteers. 100% of parents and guardians said their child was excited to come to the program every day. 100% of the volunteers enjoyed working with the program.
100% of the students surveyed enjoyed coming to camp. These students also benefited across several social and emotional measures over the 6 weeks. Using a national recognized and validated tool, the Foundation saw measurable improvements in student initiative, peer relations and sense of competence as learners. And the students definitely became more physically active, taking over 13 million steps over 6 weeks!
The engagement does not stop now that summer is over. The Foundation continues to keep this community together and engaged via activities such as field trips and family nights that will happen throughout the next nine months.
“It is wonderful to see our programs getting better each year and also serving more kids,” said Foundation founder Andy Roddick. “We are constantly learning and iterating to offer better, more valuable, more fun programs for students at Pecan Springs. But to be able to bring that to even more kids is such a point of pride. I wanted to make sure we marked our 15th year with something special, and there is no better proof that what we are doing for these kids.”
The Summer Learning Program is a part of year-round out-of-school time programming funded by the Andy Roddick Foundation for Pecan Springs Elementary. During the 2015-16 school year, the Foundation is funding after school enrichment programs for more than 200 students, including all students enrolled in the Summer Learning Program. These programs span acting to aviation and are operated by organizations including Girlstart, Camp Fire of Central Texas, Girls Empowerment Network (GEN), Phoenix Arising Aviation Academy, Extend-A-Care for Kids, Creative Action, and kidsActing Foundation, all of which receive grants from the Andy Roddick Foundation.
Strong partnerships like these, as well as support from other partners, enable the Andy Roddick Foundation to expand its service to the Pecan Springs Elementary School community. For the Summer Learning Program, 42 community partners and 130 volunteers contributed to making the program happen, giving nearly 600 hours of service. In particular, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was back for a second summer, leading the students through a weekly financial literacy curriculum to teach about money from around the world. ACE - A Community for Education AmeriCorps members provided instruction to students this summer and Communities in Schools provided more robust social-emotional supports to students.
For 15 years, the Andy Roddick Foundation has focused on expanding opportunities for young people through partnerships and grant giving, and now through its own direct programming. Research shows that positive programming outside of school greatly improves the lives of underserved young people, leading not only to better grades and test scores but also improved health and higher graduation rates. Programming during these hours is needed to keep young people engaged and thriving. Yet, for young people in underserved communities, there is not enough public funding available to support the needed programming. Private funding from organizations like the Andy Roddick Foundation is needed to combine with public funding to fill the gap during summer and after school.
About Andy Roddick Foundation
The Andy Roddick Foundation works with its community to expand opportunities for young people to learn, thrive and succeed. The Foundation is the vision of now retired tennis professional Andy Roddick who established it in 2000. Always focused on inspiring and empowering young people, the Andy Roddick Foundation moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas in 2012. The Foundation is granting funds to partners with programs that align with a goal of closing the opportunity gap for young people living in under-resourced areas. Beyond grant making, the Foundation delivers direct service with activities like its own multi-week Summer program for elementary school students. For additional information, call 512.298.1960, follow on Twitter @theARFoundation, or visit http://www.arfoundation.org
