The CDF Freedom Schools® program aims to support our country’s most marginalized learners. CDF Freedom Schools sites serve predominantly low-income children of color.

This added support for the children in the Near North Side communities can drastically improve their educational outcomes. Before school, after-school, and summer learning opportunities complement the traditional school day in a number of ways, providing a range of academic and social-emotional support that extend the impact of the school day. In 2019, nearly 85 percent of Freedom Schools participants either improved or maintained their reading skills over the course of the six-week program and avoided the summer learning loss often suffered by children not participating in summer enrichment.

The program will be offered free of charge to the Near North Side community. It will also be conducted in partnership with local Universities and will offer internships and volunteer opportunities to collegiate students looking to create positive change and impact in our region.

About the Children’s Defense Fund

The mission of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is to ensure every child a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start and a moral start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. The CDF Freedom Schools® program provides summer and after-school enrichment through a research-based and multicultural program model that supports K-12 scholars and their families through five essential components: high quality academic and character-building enrichment; parent and family involvement; civic engagement and social action; intergenerational servant leadership development; and nutrition, health and mental health.