Dallas ISD, Big Thought, SMU and the City of Dallas Release Results of the Dallas City of Learning Out of School Learning Program

Chike Aguh, Jennifer Chandler, Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Chequan Lewis, Byron Sanders, and Nina Vaca Share Insights on Learning Loss and Preparing Youth for Success in the 21st Century

DALLAS, TX, February 18, 2022 – Big Thought announced today that it will host a Dallas City of Learning State of Summer event on Tuesday, February 22 with Dallas ISD, the City of Dallas, and SMU’s Center on Research and Evaluation. The event will focus on key learnings from the DFW-based out-of-school program in 2021, which was the second year educators and students were navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dallas City of Learning is a citywide initiative to ensure all students have access to high-quality out-of-school and summer learning programs at low- and no-cost. In partnership with more than 700 community partners, the program connects students to the city’s most valuable out-of-school time resources. By sixth grade, each limited resource student has already missed out on 6,000 hours of learning compared to their more affluent peers. The summer months are especially challenging, as students lose two to four months of academic skills in the extended time away from school.

The State of Summer event will also feature a distinguished panel who will discuss their insights on how we can recover from the past two years of learning loss and bounce back to prepare our youth to succeed in the 21st century. Panelists include:

  • Chike Aguh–Chief Innovation Officer, U.S. Department of Labor
  • Jennifer Chandler–Dallas President & Head of Philanthropic Solutions, Bank of America
  • Michael Hinojosa–Superintendent, Dallas ISD
  • Chequan Lewis–Chief Operations Officer, Pizza Hut U.S.
  • Byron Sanders–President & Chief Executive Officer, Big Thought
  • Nina Vaca–Chief Executive Officer & Chairman, Pinnacle Group and Dallas’ First Entrepreneur-in-Residence

“The opportunity gap has widened due to living through two years of the global pandemic, setting back learning for all students, but especially for students of color,” says Byron Sanders, president and chief executive officer for Big Thought. “It will take all resources from the public education system to the nonprofit sector and out-of-school time programming to get American students caught up and excelling.”

A McKinsey Report on the impact of COVID-19 on learning loss finds that students of color could be six to 12 months behind, compared with four to eight months for white students. While all students are suffering, those who came into the pandemic with the fewest academic opportunities are on track to exit with the greatest learning loss.

In summer 2021, more than 21,455 students accessed Dallas City of Learning programs for over 121,900 cumulative learning hours. Dallas City of Learning is a key program for the DFW region focused on the whole child, the whole year to help stem learning loss and empower our youth to learn the skills and qualities that will empower them to succeed in the CreatEconomy. 

Register for the State of Summer event:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z74uOWC1Qx-Eam5m4vBY4Q

 

ABOUT DALLAS CITY OF LEARNING

Dallas City of Learning is a citywide initiative to ensure all students have access to high-quality summer learning programs. Together with the City of Dallas, Dallas ISD, and more than 700 community partners, we connect students to the city’s most valuable out-of-school time resources. Dallas City of Learning is a public-private partnership that was launched in 2014.

ABOUT BIG THOUGHT

Big Thought is an impact education nonprofit that closes the opportunity gap by equipping all youth in marginalized communities with the skills and tools they need to imagine and create their best lives and a better world. Driven by its mission to make imagination a part of everyday learning, Big Thought has become a national model in arts education, out of school time systems, summer learning and juvenile justice intervention.

 

Media Contact:

Jacqueline Chen Valencia

CONNECTIVE Agency

[email protected]