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News Release: Level Up SD Award

News Release: San Diego Unified, San Diego Foundation Award $8M to Support Fourth Summer of Extended Learning for Local Students Through Level Up SD
Posted on 04/22/2024

San Diego Unified, San Diego Foundation Award $8M to Support Fourth Summer of Extended Learning for Local Students Through Level Up SD

Partnerships With Nearly 50 Local Nonprofits Offer Wide Range of Opportunities for Students

 

SAN DIEGO (April 11, 2024) – San Diego Unified School District and San Diego Foundation (SDF) announced today that they have awarded $8 million in grants to 49 local nonprofit organizations to support the fourth year of Level Up SD, an expanded learning program designed to support students’ summer learning.

 

“San Diego Unified is grateful for the ongoing partnership and shared commitment we have with community-based organizations to offer our students access to meaningful summer academic and enrichment opportunities, at no cost,” said Dr. Lamont Jackson, Superintendent of San Diego Unified. "This summer, students can explore their interests, such as learning to play an instrument, engaging in ocean exploration, or participating in athletics, while fostering a sense of community and belonging.”

 

San Diego Unified funds Level Up SD through the California Department of Education's Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, which is specifically designated to support expanded learning initiatives, commonly referred to as after-school programs or summer learning experiences. San Diego Unified data shows that, overall, summer program participants demonstrated larger gains in reading and math proficiency compared to non-participants.

 

“San Diego Foundation is committed to fostering equity of opportunity for local students,” said Mark Stuart, President & CEO, SDF. “Expanded learning programs like Level Up SD provide students with social-emotional learning support, accelerate learning and narrow the achievement gap, while providing much-needed childcare support for working parents.”

 

This year’s nonprofit partners for Level Up SD include:

  • A Reason to Survive
  •  Access Youth Academy
  •  Alpha Omega Summer Camps
  •  Amanda's Adaptive Martial Arts
  •  BIPOC Support Foundation
  •  Bocon Inc.
  •  Boys & Girls Club of Greater San Diego
  •  Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute
  •  Cesar Chavez Service Clubs
  •  Chicano Federation of San Diego County
  •  Elementary Institute of Science
  •  Fern Street Community Arts
  •  Fleet Science Center
  •  Girl Scouts San Diego
  •  Groundwork San Diego - Chollas Creek
  •  Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom 
  •  Junior Achievement of San Diego County
  •  Karen Organization of San Diego
  •  La Jolla Playhouse
  •  La Maestra Foundation Inc.
  •  Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center
  •  Leah's Pantry
  •  Living Coast Discovery Center
  •  Media Arts Center San Diego
  •  Mingei International Museum
  •  Movement BE
  •  Ocean Discovery Institute
  •  Outdoor Outreach
  •  Prophet World Beat Productions
  •  San Diego Air & Space Museum
  •  San Diego History Center
  •  San Diego Parks Foundation
  •  Sherman Heights Community Center
  •  Synergy Foundation Inc.
  •  The Ed Ladder
  •  Tomlinson Touching Lives Foundation
  •  transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project
  •  Treobytes
  •  Trinity One Theatre Troupe Inc.
  •  UCSD CREATE
  •  UNCI
  •  United Women of East Africa Support Team
  •  University of San Diego
  •  VAPA Foundation
  •  YMCA of San Diego County
  •  Young And Prosperous Foundation
  •  Youth Empowerments Finest
  •  Youth Tennis San Diego
  •  Zoological Society of San Diego

The summer 2024 edition of Level Up SD is an opportunity for local nonprofit providers to partner with SDF and San Diego Unified to offer enriching summer programming to San Diego Unified students while addressing summer learning loss. This year’s program will provide opportunities for up to 10,000 San Diego Unified students, with a focus on providing programming to priority students, which includes English learners, foster youth, students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, or students with disabilities.

 

Summer 2024 will mark the fourth year the district offers the Level Up SD program for students in Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) through eighth grade. Sessions will be offered at 49 schools and off-campus community locations for nine weeks at no cost to San Diego Unified families. The first five weeks of programming will be offered at district campuses, with subsequent weeks of programming offered off-site with local nonprofit partners. Level Up SD sites were strategically selected to offer access to priority students.

 

Started in summer 2021, Level Up SD is an out-of-school time, or expanded learning, summer program for students enrolled in San Diego Unified schools. Since its inception, Level Up SD has partnered with 130-plus local nonprofit organizations to serve 25,000 San Diego Unified students.

 

About San Diego Unified School District: With nearly 100,000 students enrolled in Universal Transitional Kindergarten through high school, more than 13,000 employees, and 226 educational facilities, San Diego Unified is California’s second-largest school district. San Diego Unified serves a diverse student population representing more than 60 languages and dialects. Learn more at sandiegounified.org.

 

About San Diego Foundation
San Diego Foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region. Our strategic priorities include advancing racial and social justice, fostering equity of opportunity, building resilient communities, and delivering world-class philanthropy to realize our vision of just, equitable and resilient communities. The Education Initiative supports K-12 and higher education programs to extend opportunity to San Diego students as they prepare for success in life and work. For more than 48 years, SDF and its donors have granted $1.7 billion to support nonprofit organizations strengthening our community. Learn more at SDFoundation.org.

 

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Contact:

Marisa Berumen, Communications Department, San Diego Unified, 619-847-6029, [email protected]

Lorena Nava Ruggero, San Diego Foundation, [email protected], 619-814-1365