Focused on the fun side of learning, Penn GSE's holistic summer program preps kids for the school year

Penn GSE's Office of School and Community Engagement led the design of the academic components of the program in 2021 and implemented it in partnership with Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships and the School District of Philadelphia. The program takes place at the Andrew Hamilton School and Penn Alexander School and serves 240 primarily from five West and Southwest Philadelphia schools.

"Our goal is to help teachers and students find joy, to reconnect with each other and to find confidence," said Julie Berger, associate director of OSCE and a two-time Penn GSE graduate.

The summer program collaboration between Netter and GSE builds upon funding that the Netter Center receives from the Philadelphia Out-of-School Time and Pennsylvania’s 21st Century Community Learning Center programs, as well as the CHOP Healthier Together initiative, to implement comprehensive University-Assisted Community Schools. This partnership connects academic, human, and material resources from Penn and the community to activities during the school day, after school, and in the summer. In this successful summer collaboration, GSE faculty, staff, and students collaborate with Netter staff and students as well as other Penn partners to provide academic, enrichment, and mental health and wellness programming.

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