United Way of The Greater Lehigh Valley is proud to join the Freedom Schools Movement

Since it began in 1995, CDF Freedom Schools programs have served more than 150,000 scholars, the majority of whom are children of color living in poverty: African American children make up 76 percent of those served and Latino children 14 percent; 80 percent of all scholars qualify for Free and Reduced-price Meal System services. Through their network of partners, in 2019 the program was offered at 180 sites located in 101 cities and towns spread across 28 states (including Washington, D.C.).

The James Lawson Freedom School, an initiative established by Resurrected Community Development Corporation and held in the Christ Lutheran Church in Allentown, is the first and only CDF-certified Freedom School in the Lehigh Valley and provides students with a safe, interactive and culturally responsive learning environment during the summer in order to decrease summer learning loss, increase student literacy, and build latent leadership skills.
 
The James Lawson Freedom School pedagogy embraces and supports an intergenerational leadership model, which is why it is staffed primarily by college students and recent college graduates, with a 10:1 child to adult ratio. As a result, enrolled children and youth make significant gains in reading achievement and don’t experience the summer learning loss evidenced in their peers. Each student enrolled in the James Lawson Freedom School undergoes pre and post testing facilitated by graduate level education professionals.  

Program success is evaluated through metrics that include student attendance, level of parent involvement, post-test results, and programs evaluations completed by students, staff, and parents.