In anticipation of the end of the current school year, the Partnership for Children and Youth announced the launch of the Summer Matters initiative, according to the Beyond Education blog. The program, which will run for five years, aims to preserve the learning development of 50,000 low-income children every summer.

"A child's need for meaningful learning and enrichment experiences does not end in June when the school doors close for summer vacation. All children need to be engaged and actively learning during the summer months in order to be on track when they return to school in the fall," the initiative wrote.

The program was inspired partly by research that indicated that parents had a difficult time finding productive activities for their children during the summer. This may lead to summer learning loss, which may be responsible for achievement gaps between different groups of students.

The Summer Matters initiative will focus on activities that teach active learning, nutrition, literacy and an appreciation for the outdoors, according to the blog. The campaign includes a geographical map that highlights areas of California that are part of the program.

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