High-quality learning for charter school students in 7 U.S. cities in Summer 2025

Summer Boost is a private philanthropic initiative supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with co-funders. Summer Boost was launched in 2022 in New York City in response to COVID-related learning loss. In 2025, Summer Boost is running in 7 U.S. cities: Baltimore, Birmingham, Memphis, Nashville, New York City, San Antonio, and Washington, D.C. The program is designed to support rising 1st to 9th grade charter students in select cities across the nation to accelerate their academic progress in English Language Arts and math while providing engaging enrichment opportunities. Schools can apply to receive up to $2,000 per student to support high-quality summer learning programs.

Summer Boost funding is provided for rising 1st to rising 9th grade students (students completing kindergarten through 8th grade in spring 2025); Summer Boost does not provide funding for rising kindergarteners or rising 10th-12th graders.

In 2025, the core Summer Boost program design requirements – which are based on known best practices for summer learning – remain consistent with the 2024 program.

The Summer Boost team is excited to share the following updates to the 2025 program:

• Technology platforms been updated to provide a streamlined experience for grantees. Look for updates to our application platform as well as the assessment platform. For example, with our new application platform, Submittable, applicants can preview the entire application, save progress and return to continue working on the application, add collaborators from your organization to work on specific sections, and even work with your Program Officer on adjusting the application as you plan for Summer Boost.
• For schools who elect to use the Lavinia curriculum:
  • Lavinia pre-program training for educators has been updated to a 3-day format, and no longer includes pre-work. Lavinia leader training sessions will now take place throughout May, providing leaders with ample time to prepare for implementing the curriculum and setting up the assessment platform well before educators and students begin. 
  • Lavinia supports: To ensure ongoing support throughout the program, Lavinia Group will hold weekly office hours for educators and leaders. Look for enhancements to the literacy curriculum and new caregiver resources intended to strengthen engagement and support learning at home.

Note:  As in prior years, applicants can apply to serve up to ⅓ of their eligible student population (rising 1st-9th graders). In the application, we ask if you would serve more than ⅓ of your students if more funding was available. While unlikely, we will contact interested applicants about next steps if additional funding is available after all applications have been received.

Schools can apply for up to $2,000 per student, depending on the length of the program and whether the program is full- or half-day:

• $80/student per day for full-day (5+ hours/day)
• $55/student per day for half-day (＜5 hours/day)

We will ask you to provide a final, adjusted enrollment number closer to the time of your Summer Boost program start. Your final grant total will be updated to reflect that adjusted enrollment number.

Your first grant payment will be 70% of the updated final grant total. Your second grant payment will take into account the actual number of students you served and be adjusted accordingly, as outlined below:

• If your average daily attendance is at least 70% of the final, adjusted enrollment, you will receive 100% of the adjusted grant funding.
• If your average daily attendance is less than 70% of the final, adjusted enrollment, you will receive 70% of the adjusted grant funding. In this case, you will not receive a second payment.

Data from previous summers shows that 70% attendance at a Summer Boost program is an important threshold for students to realize significant, positive growth in academics. This payment structure is designed to encourage what works best for students! We encourage you to consider the importance of consistent attendance for student success as you recruit and enroll students for the program. 

Full guidance can be found in the Summer Boost Funding Model document.