Press conference to kick-off FREE summer instruction and activities for San Diego Unified students

Media Advisory

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Speakers

1. Joe Vasquez (Host/Emcee), Board Member, Elementary Institute of Science
2. Pamela Gray Payton, Vice President, Chief Impact and Partnerships Officer, The San Diego Foundation
3. Carol Dedrich, CEO, Girl Scouts San Diego
4. Dr. Pamela Thompson, Principal, Nye Elementary
5. Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, Board Vice President, San Diego Unified School District
6. Richard Barrera, Board President, San Diego Unified School District

Visuals

Podium shots as well as graphics showing the more than 65 local nonprofits who received Level Up SD grants to offer San Diego Unified students a summer of learning and joy.

Background

Level Up SD was created this year by the San Diego Unified School District and The San Diego Foundation thanks to a $31 million commitment by the San Diego Unified Board of Education. It features in-person classroom instruction in the mornings at neighborhood schools with San Diego Unified teachers and afternoon summer activities offered by dozens of local nonprofits in communities across the city. Level Up SD is part of a comprehensive effort by San Diego Unified to help provide area students with a summer of learning and joy to prepare them academically and emotionally for the fall.

Already, 20,000 students have signed up for instructional opportunities in the morning at neighborhood schools with San Diego Unified teachers, and even more are expected to participate in the summer activities and opportunities beyond the classroom hosted by more than 65 local nonprofits. #LevelUpSD

About Level Up SD

Created this year by the San Diego Unified School District and The San Diego Foundation, Level Up SD, a Summer of Learning and Joy features in-person classroom instruction in the mornings at neighborhood schools with San Diego Unified teachers and summer activities offered by dozens of nonprofits in communities across the city. There is no cost to families for the classroom instruction or the activities, thanks to a $31 million commitment by the San Diego Unified Board of Education. To be eligible for #LevelUpSD, students must be enrolled in San Diego Unified for the 2021-2022 school year.

Summer school generally is offered to a select group of struggling students. Level Up SD is open to all K-12 students. This means thousands of kids from every corner of our community can now take advantage of academics and free activities beyond the classroom, like learning to kayak or learning to fly a drone, for the first time

About The San Diego Foundation

The foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve quality of life in our region. For more than 45 years, The Foundation and its donors have granted more than $1.3 billion to support nonprofit organizations and strengthen the San Diego community. Learn more at SDFoundation.org.

About San Diego Unified School District

The second largest school system in the State of California and fastest improving school district in the nation, San Diego Unified students have earned a reputation for hard work and achievement. This success was recently recognized when President Biden selected San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten to serve as his Deputy Secretary of Education. Despite the national recognition, San Diego Unified remains firmly rooted in the communities it serves. “Our schools make San Diego a better place” is more than a slogan. It is a systemwide commitment to San Diego’s “City of Villages” growth strategy, where every neighborhood is home to a high-quality public school. To learn more, follow #BetterSD and visit sandiegounified.org.

Contacts

Tony Manolatos, Manolatos Public Affairs, tony@manolatospa.com, 619-549-0137
Maureen Magee, San Diego Unified School District, mmagee@sandi.net
Theresa Nakata, The San Diego Foundation, theresan@sdfoundation.org