Grants Aim to Squash Summer ‘Brain Drain’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTwenty Indiana schools will share about $400,000 in grants from the Duke Energy Foundation. The organization says the funds are designed to combat “brain drain” for students during the summer months. May 19, 2015
News Release
PLAINFIELD, Ind. – The Duke Energy Foundation is investing approximately $400,000 in Indiana youth statewide to help maintain and improve reading levels over the summer.
“Studies show that students can lose more than two months of learning after summer vacation, which is why summer learning programs are important,” said Duke Energy Indiana President Doug Esamann. “Literacy is a major part of student success, and it affects a student’s education in all subjects. It also has an impact on the community when it’s time for a student to enter the workforce.
Twenty Indiana schools are receiving grants ranging from approximately $9,000 to $36,000 for wide-ranging reading initiatives. (List of schools below.) The programs largely target students prior to third grade. Some examples include:
Avon Community School Corporation – A week-long camp in July targeting incoming first and second graders for whom English is not their primary language. The camp will focus on vocabulary skills and pair students up with their teacher for the coming year.
Brooklyn and South Elementary schools (Martinsville School Corporation) – A summer reading program that includes parent workshops to focus on reading strategies that can be used at home. Each student goes home with a backpack of projects for students and parents to use.
“We started funding pilot summer reading programs in Connersville several years ago,” Esamann said. “There we saw that 60 percent of students advanced by one reading level and 87 percent increased their scores overall. The programs work.”
Facts on reading and education
-During the summer break, low-income students can lose more than two months of reading achievement.
-Approximately 14 percent of Indiana students did not pass the IREAD3 test administered in the third grade.
-A child who is not reading at grade level at the end of the 3rd grade is four times more likely to drop out of high school.
In Indiana, the Duke Energy Foundation invests approximately $2 million annually for community support and charitable contributions. To learn more about Duke Energy Foundation, visit www.duke-energy.com/community.
Schools receiving Duke Energy 2015 summer reading program grants.
Attica Consolidated School Corporation $22,600
East Washington School Corporation $10,572
New Albany Floyd County Schools $13,278
North Lawrence Community Schools $34,856
Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools $19,385
Franklin Community School Corporation $9,500
South Dearborn Community School Corporation $19,990
Vincennes Community School Corporation $15,000
Rochester Community School Corporation $8,950
MSD of Martinsville $22,639
Shelbyville Central Schools $35,800
Decatur County School Corporation $16,350
Clinton Central $19,954
Vigo County School Corporation $16,111
Sheridan School Corporation $21,094
Greater Clark Schools $15,086
New Castle Schools/Wilbur Wright Elementary $9,677
Avon Schools $25,000
Kokomo School Corporation $25,000
Bartholomew Consolidated Schools $30,000
Source: The Duke Energy Foundation