PAL SUMMER CAMP IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SAY YES BUFFALO & BUFFALO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Since 2015, Say Yes Buffalo (SYB), Buffalo Public Schools (BPS), the City of Buffalo, and Erie County have partnered with community and faith-based organizations to implement a citywide Summer Camp initiative. Summer Camps are hosted in the community, such as community centers or houses of worship, and operate for six weeks, Monday – Friday. This year, camp will run July 10th– August 18^th Buffalo PAL will operate at least 7 hours/day. 

Summer Camp activities include a blend of academic and extracurricular activities. As part of the academic activities, sites implement evidence-based literacy and math curriculum. Additionally, students participate in Mayor Brown’s “Reading Rules! Kids Summer Reading Challenge.” This entails students reading five books at their level and writing five summaries on these books. Summer Camp sites also offer breakfast and lunch each day, which is done in collaboration with BPS Food Service. Additionally, the 7-hour sites provide afternoon snack.

The primary goal of the Summer Camp initiative is to enhance students’ academic growth. Typically, over the summer in low-income communities like Buffalo, students lose two months of reading skills and more than two months of math skills. Participation in high-quality summer learning programs helps students avoid this typical summer learning loss. In addition to enhancing academic growth, the Summer Camp initiative aims to improve health and wellness and keep children safe.

Summer Camp is offered as a free service to eligible students. Students must be PK-6 grade students enrolled in BPS (either a district or charter school) during the 2022-23 school year. Students must be five years old by the start of Summer Camp.