Free Summer Learning Program Serves More Than 120 Students at South Bronx Early College Academy

A free five-week summer learning program at South Bronx Early College Academy Charter School is giving more than 120 middle school students extra academic support, enrichment activities, sports, arts, and field trips this summer.

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Summer Boost program returned to SBECA on July 6 and will run Mondays through Thursdays through Aug. 6, with field trips on Fridays. The program is open to SBECA’s current sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, as well as incoming sixth graders.

SBECA, a public charter middle school located at 801 East 156th Street in the South Bronx, is one of 126 Summer Boost sites across New York City. Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the initiative in New York City in 2022 to help address COVID-related learning loss, and the program now supports summer learning for charter school students in seven U.S. cities.

At SBECA, the program combines academic instruction with activities designed to keep students active, engaged, and connected to school during the summer months. This year’s activities include arts, robotics, step dance, baseball, basketball, volleyball, knitting, Double Dutch, and other hands-on enrichment opportunities.

Students will also participate in off-campus experiences, including a college tour and ropes course at SUNY Purchase and a hiking trip at Black Rock Forest in Cornwall, N.Y.

“Summer Boost gives our students an extra month of learning that feels active, engaging, and joyful,” said David Krulwich, vice principal of South Bronx Early College Academy. “Students strengthen their academic skills while also playing sports, making art, going on field trips, and trying new activities. That combination keeps students connected to school over the summer and helps them return in the fall with more confidence.”

National evaluation data released by Bloomberg Philanthropies found that 2025 Summer Boost participants gained about 3.5 additional weeks of math learning and 2.5 additional weeks of English Language Arts learning compared with students who did not attend.

In 2025, Summer Boost served more than 39,000 students in more than 450 schools in Baltimore; Birmingham, Ala.; Memphis, Tenn.; Nashville, Tenn.; New York City; San Antonio; and Washington, D.C. Bloomberg Philanthropies said the program has shown consistent results across tens of thousands of students and hundreds of schools, with positive impacts across student groups, cities, grade levels, and achievement levels, including among students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, students receiving special education services, and English language learners.

South Bronx Early College Academy Charter School serves students in grades six through eight and was founded by the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation. The school provides a student-centered liberal arts education focused on academic achievement, social-emotional development, and high school readiness.

Students at SBECA receive daily advisory support, high school admissions guidance, access to arts and technology electives, free extended day and summer programming, and preparation for Regents-level coursework.