III 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 607 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 7, 2008 Ms. Mikulski (for herself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Obama, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Designating July 10, 2008, as National Summer Learning Day.

Whereas all students experience a measurable loss of mathematics and reading skills when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer months; Whereas summer learning loss is greatest for low-income children, who often lack the academic enrichment opportunities available to their more affluent peers; Whereas recent research indicates that 2/3 of the achievement gap between low-income children and their more affluent peers can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities, which results in low-income youth being less likely to graduate from high school or enter college; Whereas recent surveys indicate that low-income parents have considerable difficulty finding available summer opportunities for their children; Whereas structured enrichment and education programs are proven to accelerate learning for students who participate in such programs for several weeks during the summer; Whereas students who participate in the Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) summer programs gain several months' worth of reading and mathematics skills through summer enrichment, and students who regularly attend the Teach Baltimore Summer Academy for 2 summers are 1/2 year ahead of their peers in reading skills; Whereas the Summer Youth Program Fund in Indianapolis, Indiana, the first community collaborative fund for youth programs in the United States, serves as an example for other urban communities by providing summer learning opportunities for young people; Whereas thousands of students in similar programs make measurable gains in academic achievement; Whereas recent research demonstrates that most children, particularly children at high risk of obesity, gain weight more rapidly when they are out of school during the summer; Whereas Summer Learning Day is designed to highlight the need for more young people to be engaged in summer learning activities and to support local summer programs that benefit children, families, and communities; and Whereas a wide array of schools, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, museums, libraries, and summer camps in many States across the United States, will celebrate annual Summer Learning Day on July 10, 2008: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)designates July 10, 2008, as National Summer Learning Day, in order to raise public awareness about the positive impact of summer learning opportunities on the development and educational success of the children of the United States; (2)urges the people of the United States to promote summer learning activities, in order to send young people back to school ready to learn, to support working parents and their children, and to keep the children of the United States safe and healthy during the summer months; and (3)urges communities to celebrate, with appropriate ceremonies and activities, the importance of high quality summer learning opportunities in the lives of young students and their families.