Black children in North America face some of the greatest barriers to participating in equitable and enriching summer programming. The differences are too glaring to ignore. These disparities take a toll on the mental, physical and financial health of Black families with school-aged kids. Black parents face challenges in ensuring their children have safe and enriching summer options. This challenge represents the systematic barriers that must be addressed urgently and systematically.
Black children often have to navigate racist and traumatic experiences in their school and summer environments. These struggles can severely affect their development and overall well-being. These adverse childhood experiences can result in long-term mental health problems and impede their growth and future flourishing. In reality, summer is much more than an academic vacation for many families. Parents don’t have to be told that it’s a perilous time — trying to stay focused on jobs during a pandemic and inflation while trying to find safe, engaging spaces for their kids.
Financial Burdens of Summer Programming
The cost of summer programming is a major pain point for Black families. For families with three or more kids, the expense can be higher than $12,000 per year. A lot of families face a distressing reality when it comes to camp expenses. Day camps average from $35 to $500 weekly, whereas overnight camps can range from $300 to over $1,000 per week. Such costs can be impossible for families already struggling with increased inflation and other economic impacts.
Transportation complicates summer program access tremendously. Just like their working-class parents, who often work multiple jobs. Consequently, they often can’t get their children to programs that are located far away from home or their job sites. On top of that, the differing costs of these programs between provinces in Canada bring a whole new level of complexity. American families who can’t access their state’s program are left to navigate a patchwork of other options that often aren’t affordable, financially inaccessible, further entrenching educational inequality.
Additionally, summer learning loss hits Black children from low-income households the hardest. Studies have shown that these children lose on average about two months of reading achievement over the summer, exacerbating the educational gap. Parents, particularly mothers, have shouldered an extraordinary burden. Engagement must be more than symbolic. They deserve programs that not only serve their children’s academic needs, but honor and respect their cultural heritage.
The Need for Culturally Relevant Programs
Culturally relevant programming stereotypes are not just dangerous. They’re detrimental to the healthy development of Black children. Parents from diverse backgrounds continue to voice challenges in finding summer opportunities that meet their children’s identities and lived experiences. This Eurocentric education has led to centuries of systemic inequities. Instead, it is consistently harmful to Black students and dismissive of their robust, complex histories that inform their present day.
A strong, national education policy is imperative. Unfortunately, existing federal and state frameworks fall woefully short of supporting the unique challenges that Black families are experiencing exacerbated over the summer months. Advocates argue that a province-wide summer program network and coalition could help build accessible and culturally relevant programs for Black children. These types of initiatives would not only improve educational experiences, but improve safe havens spaces where kids can flourish.
Acknowledging the role of colonial ideologies in shaping educational systems is an important first step in combating these harmful practices. When marginalized communities are shut out from privatized summer programs in this way, it deepens the inequality. By prioritizing culturally relevant education and equitable access to resources, stakeholders can strive to dismantle these systemic barriers.
Solutions for Summer Learning Loss
To mitigate differential summer learning loss among Black children, communities must advocate for accessible programming that addresses their specific needs. That means designing meaningful collaborations among school districts, regional nonprofits, and grassroots community activists to build the type of supportive infrastructure needed for Black families to thrive. By working together, neighborhoods and schools can build programs that help students develop the academic skills they need. These programs further couple in cultural education and mental health services.
Beyond making programs more accessible overall, it’s critical to start meeting the transportation and scheduling needs of working parents. Allowing for flexible programming that allows for participation outside of typical work hours can really help reduce these stresses on families. Innovations like mobile learning units or community transport services might help connect the dots to more inclusive access and availability.
Ultimately, a multi-faceted approach is needed to guarantee that Black children experience equal access to enriching summer programming. Significant policy changes have been made at the provincial and national level. We hope these changes help serve Black families in their quest for quality education and enrichment experiences year-round, including in summertime.