A summer of achievement
Nearly 900 children returned to schools in Boston and Cambridge this fall with a boost from the award-winning academic enrichment provided by the Summer Urban Program (SUP) at Harvard’s Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA). SUP, which is run by Harvard undergraduates and hosts 11 free summer camps in Boston and Cambridge, received the National Summer Learning Association’s 2011 Excellence in Summer Learning Award last month. The national organization supports summertime learning and rigorously assesses programs each year. Research has established that children lose academic skills during summer breaks, and low-income students are disproportionately at risk. Education experts point to summertime programs such as PBHA’s as a way to help bridge the gap. “PBHA’s SUP fits into a broader context. It’s helping Boston close achievement gaps by closing opportunity gaps in the summer,” said Christopher Smith, executive director of Boston After School & Beyond, a public-private partnership that supports, strengthens, and expands Boston’s after-school...