PBS KIDS KICKS OFF ITS ANNUAL SUMMER LEARNING INITIATIVE

Learning Goes Beyond the Classroom This Summer with All-New Programming, Digital Resources, Partnerships and Community Activities, Available Starting in June

ARLINGTON, VA, May 26, 2016 – As kids spend time outside the classroom this summer, PBS KIDS will release all-new content and resources to help keep them active and encourage exploration at home and outdoors with their favorite characters. As part of its annual summer learning initiative, PBS KIDS will air all-new specials and episodes from ODD SQUAD, NATURE CAT and READY JET GO! beginning in June, and will offer free digital resources at pbsparents.org/summer to make learning fun all summer long.

More than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be credited to unequal access to summer learning opportunities*. To help address this, PBS KIDS has partnered with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, I Can Read! books published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, the Association of Children’s Museums and Reading Is Fundamental. Through these partnerships, nearly 100 local PBS member stations will be hosting summer learning-related events to offer educational resources to families and children in underserved communities.

“While kids are out of school during the summer months, it’s important that they remain engaged in learning and exploration,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Children’s Media and Education, PBS. “PBS KIDS is committed to providing learning resources that help to bridge the achievement gap, especially to children in underserved areas who need it most. Every year, our PBS member stations do an exemplary job of bringing these resources to families in their communities to encourage them to keep their minds active all summer long.” Continue reading PBS KIDS Annual Summer Learning Initative and All-New Programming →