Matt Brunell, Co-Executive Director at Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership wrote: "In national studies, summer programming has proven to mitigate learning loss and increase school engagement. In Springfield, SEZP funded 16 partners for a total of $1MM in grants in Summer 2023. ... These students had a near negligible (.02 point) decrease in their Math NWEA MAP RIT scores, whereas the students who didn’t participate had much steeper learning losses. We are learning that specific programs have different impacts. For some example, the 10th grade students who participated in the Hope for Youth and Families program actually gained 5 points more in ELA and 3+ points more in Math on their NWEA MAP, than students who didn’t participate in summer programs."