Students across Alabama are set to benefit from enhanced summer learning opportunities, thanks to a new collaboration between the Alabama Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs and Summer Adventures in …
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Students across Alabama are set to benefit from enhanced summer learning opportunities, thanks to a new collaboration between the Alabama Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs and Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL).
According to a news release, the partnership, announced this week, brings all 13 Boys and Girls Clubs organizations in the state into SAIL's summer learning network, expanding access to high-quality, community-based educational programs.
Previously, four Boys and Girls Club organizations — Central Alabama, West Alabama, North Alabama and Southeast Alabama — were already part of the SAIL network, operating robust summer programs at multiple locations. This new agreement extends participation to all 55 Boys and Girls Club sites statewide. The expanded partnership aims to provide additional professional development for camp leaders, planning resources and opportunities for collaboration among program leaders year-round.
A key feature of the partnership is the introduction of the Star Assessment Suite to all Boys and Girls Club sites. This tool will enable camp leaders to assess students' reading and math skills, tailor support to individual needs, track progress and celebrate achievements. This personalized approach ensures students gain maximum benefit from their summer learning experience.
"The partnership forged between SAIL and Alabama Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs creates the opportunity for our Clubs to proactively assess and address reading and math issues while preparing our youth for the next school year and beyond," director of the Alabama Alliance April Stone said in the release.
Since its founding in 2012, SAIL has collaborated with nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and other community groups to combat the "summer slide," a phenomenon where students often lose up to two months of academic progress in reading and math during the summer break. SAIL has invested over $10 million in summer learning initiatives and helped more than 21,700 students across Alabama achieve academic growth.
In 2024, SAIL-supported programs served more than 2,300 students, 97% of whom qualified for free or reduced lunch. Programs reported an 82% average daily attendance rate, with 80% of students completing the full summer schedule. Participants gained an average of 2.5 months in math skills and one month in reading skills during the summer, continuing SAIL's 12-year streak of fostering measurable academic progress.
"The Boys and Girls Clubs of Alabama have a long tradition of providing excellent summer programming," said Jim Wooten, president of the SAIL Board of Directors. "Four of them are already members of the SAIL community. With this partnership, we will significantly increase the number of SAIL program locations and the number of students that we serve. This is a milestone for the partners and, more importantly, for the children of Alabama."