We Hear You Parents: How a Local Nonprofit is Using Parent Feedback to Design Their Summer Programs for Low-Income Families
MEF Opens Summer 2021 Program Registration and Shares Its Parent Survey Data
MEF Parents providing live feedback on Summer 2021 programs. Over 400 MEF families were surveyed.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
2/16/21
CHICAGO – Midtown Educational Foundation (MEF), a Chicago nonprofit dedicated to helping underserved 4th-12th grade students achieve academic and character excellence, is launching registration for its Summer 2021 programs on Monday, February 22. Although there is still so much unpredictability with coronavirus cases and vaccine rollouts, MEF feels confident in its summer plans based on the demand and feedback from its families, 93% of whom are Black or Latino. MEF’s summer 2021 programs will provide both remote learning and in-person activity options to meet the needs of these families while the organization hopes to transition back to a mostly in-person model in the fall.
In early December 2020, Chicago Public Schools released their data on their January 2021 school re-opening plan, and the numbers showed that the in-person opt-in rate for grades K-8 was 31% for Latino students, 34% for Black students, 33% for Asian students, and 55% for multiracial students. After learning of this report, MEF decided to pause its summer planning to determine if these numbers were also representative of parents’ feelings about participating in a summer program or camp.
MEF surveyed over 400 of its families at both its Midtown Center for boys (Midtown) and Metro Achievement Center for girls (Metro) and asked questions, such as: “If a COVID-19 vaccine is NOT available and accessible to your family by this summer, would you prefer an in-person or remote summer program?” To this question, 57% of Midtown parents and 52% of Metro parents selected the remote/virtual option. Of these families that selected the remote option, a notable 61% of parents with male students versus 44% of parents of female students, said they were open to some in-person activities like sports, arts, fitness, and apprenticeships. The numbers shifted dramatically when parents were given the scenario of a COVID-19 vaccine being accessible with mask-wearing and social distancing. In this scenario, both Midtown and Metro had the exact same figure of 77% of parents opting for in-person programming. The results showed negligible differences in parent opinions based on grade level.
Links to the full survey results - Metro Survey | Midtown Survey
MEF then held virtual feedback sessions with select parent ambassadors. Arguments were raised for both virtual and in-person programming. A Midtown Mom expressed her worries that “Although our family is fairly open to the vaccine, we are unsure whether the rest of the families will also be vaccinated or what percentage of them will be.” Many parents voiced concern about making a decision, given that they have a multigenerational household and high-risk family members at home. Others felt strongly that their sons and daughters needed in-person activities because they worried that their children are suffering both socially and academically with remote learning. In the end, it became clear that parents felt safer with a virtual summer program but definitely wanted the option for their child to participate in in-person activities on an individual basis.
MEF’s summer programs will continue to offer remote tutoring and mentoring to its students.
Based on these results, Midtown and Metro summer programs have been designed to be primarily remote-based with multiple in-person options and activities available. The core components of MEF’s programs: academics, character education, tutoring/mentoring, and parent programming, are all designed to be live online. Most electives will also be available virtually. “The goal with this design is to ensure that every family, regardless if they choose full remote or some in-person, will be able to receive a complete enrichment experience,” said Pedro Caranti, Midtown Center Director. “No matter if they come to Midtown or stay at home, we want to help them achieve their academic and personal development goals for the upcoming school year while also having the ability to develop friendships and engage in fun activities.”
The in-person offerings will vary between Centers and grade levels. Metro will offer in-person service activities, while Midtown will offer in-person sports. Both Centers will offer in-person field trips, select in-person mentoring and instruction options, and fun in-person projects and presentations. Midtown & Metro high school students can apply to paid apprenticeships such as Engineering, Business, and Computer Science, which will also feature many in-person components.
MEF’s summer programs run from June 28th to August 6th and are open to rising 4th-12th graders in the Chicago area. If you would like more information or to set-up a one-on-one appointment with our program staff, please visit:
About Midtown Educational Foundation: Midtown Educational Foundation (www.midtown-metro.org), through its Metro Achievement Center for girls and Midtown Center for boys, has helped close the achievement gap for underserved students in Chicago since its founding in 1965. Their programming focus on academic excellence, virtue development, individual attention, and parental engagement has led to 100% high school graduation and college enrollment for its students for 21 consecutive years.
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Media Contact:
Vince Meno
Director of Community Outreach & Marketing
Phone: 773-520-7202
Email: vmeno@midtown-metro.org