As youth leave their classrooms for the summer this week, Chicago City of Learning (CCOL) joined Chicago Public Schools at Lovett Elementary to announce “Get Set for Summer” with over 5,000 in-person and online citywide summer learning opportunities available to youth and teens in the months ahead. CCOL connects families and young people (4-24) to diverse, interest-based and out-of-school learning opportunities at libraries, parks, city agencies and over 100 youth-serving organizations that offer everything from computer coding to piano lessons. In addition to providing a valuable resource to Chicago families, CCOL also records the informal learning experiences of youth in online portfolios so they have a record of the skills and knowledge they attain over time. Sponsored by Comcast, Best Buy and the Chicago Housing Authority, CCOL’s mobile labs bring wifi, laptops and trained mentors to non-traditional learning spaces across the city. This summer the fleet will be hosting three-day FUSE workshops that allow youth to direct their own Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning exploration. For more information, visit chicagocityoflearning.org.

Photo Captions:

Image 1: Over 5,000 programs available with Chicago City of Learning across Chicago this summer.

Image 2: Dr. Sybil Madison-Boyd, CCOL’s Learning Pathways Program Director, and CCOL mentors help Lovett Elementary school students explore over 5,000 citywide summer learning opportunities before the school year comes to a close.