On June 26, 2017, students in grades K-3 gathered at Thirman Milner School in Hartford’s North End neighborhood for the second year of Adventures in the City CDF® Freedom School. Last year’s Freedom School provided six weeks of full-day summer programming for 75 children free of charge; however, this year we were able to serve up to 100 students thanks to a special grant from the United Way Foundation and continued funding from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and many congregations and individuals!
Freedom School is a national model that provides an evidence based, culturally rich literacy curriculum proven effective at helping youth from low income communities retain their reading ability during the summer months. Our program also provided afternoons filled with engaging enrichment classes in world dance, sports, art, and poetry as well as field trips to Imagine Nation, CT Science Center, Ebony Horsewomen, and the crowd-pleaser Flight Trampoline Park, to name a few.
A hallmark of the Freedom School model is that it is staffed by young adult interns who come from the same community and neighborhoods as the students they are serving. The young adults receive national training that is immersed in the spirit of the civil rights movement and often leads to long-term engagement in urban education and justice efforts. This year seven of our adult servant leader interns returned, and three new interns joined the team.
“You all do have something inside that is so strong,” said Mayor Bronin to the students in the packed Milner gym for the Freedom School Finale, “If you focus on whatever you care about most you are going to be able to do whatever you want to do, and if you can do that, our city will be strong.”
CAC has provided vital summer programming for Hartford youth for more than 30 years. With contributions from people like you, we hope to continue investing in our future leaders who will make our city strong!
*Harambee means: “pull together” in Swahili and signifies a coming together in unity.
