Evolve502 has received $100,000 from the One Louisville: Covid-19 Response Fund to support summer learning initiatives in Jefferson County Public Schools.
The money will be used to provide incentives to students who actively participate in the district’s online summer learning program, and to support community organizations who’ve provided virtual programming to supplement JCPS’s Summer League.
The One Louisville: Covid 19 Response Fund was created to deploy financial support to households, businesses, and nonprofit organizations working at the frontlines of the Louisville-area coronavirus outbreak.
“As the cross-sector convener in the Louisville community, we at Evolve502 are fortunate to have leaders from the education, non-profit, government and philanthropic sectors,” said Dr. Charles Davis, Jr., Evolve502 Director of Comprehensive Services. “We recognize that together we can do so much more to support youth than any of us could by ourselves. The investment from the One Louisville: Covid-19 Response Fund allows us to positively impact even more students and families.”
JCPS transitioned to Non-Traditional Instruction Learning in April in light of coronavirus spread in our community. That same month, Evolve502 formed a rapid response team made up of JCPS and community partners to consider how the community could support student learning during the summer and beyond to ensure students would stay on track for academic achievement.
The group’s goals were to support the development of a community-wide online summer platform, to convene community and out-of-school time partners to offer virtual enrichment programming, and to engage students and their families in the summer learning offerings. As summer learning launches, the team will continue to focus on connectivity issues and supports for JCPS students in preparation for the new school year.
The Summer league website launched June 22 at https://sites.google.com/jefferson.kyschools.us/summer-learning/home.
Students can earn incentives (valued at up to $500) in three ways:
- Make their way to the top of the leaderboard for their grades
- Complete challenges and adventures on the website weekly to be eligible for participation prizes
- Be on the lookout on Evolve502’s social media channels for pop-up opportunities that will reward prizes to students who can show engagement in summer learning programming.
Supporting summer learning is one part of Evolve502’s vision to ensure that every child is prepared for college, career and a successful, productive life. Ensuring equitable access to summer learning aligns with our mission to remove and mitigate the systemic barriers of poverty and institutional racism.