A woman smiles as she hands a girl a sandwich.

Twenty-nine districts will be participating in this year’s Summer Boost: Reading and Mathematics Program, a partnership between the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), the Summer Food Service Program and the Children’s Reading Foundation.

The Summer Boost program will promote family engagement in reading and math by giving away free books and fun items – such as wristbands, bookmarks and magnets – intended to motivate and remind families to read 20 minutes every day. Each participating district will receive about 1,000 books to distribute at their meal sites. Families interested in having their child participate should reach out to their local Summer Food Service Department for more information about meal service sites within their district.

This year’s Summer Boost participants are the recipients of a generous donation of books on behalf of Age of Learning Inc. The creators of ABCmouse, Age of Learning Inc., donated 40,000 books to the summer program to support the educational initiatives and literacy development of Kentucky’s students.

“Age of Learning is committed to enhancing children’s educational experiences,” said Ty West, head of the Schools Division at Age of Learning. “By donating thousands of Age of Learning’s ABCmouse books to the Kentucky Department of Education’s Summer Boost initiatives, we are proud to help foster a love of reading and make a significant impact in the learning journeys of young students across diverse communities.” 

Summer Boost coordinators also will direct families to KDE’s online Summer Support webpages, which are available to all Kentucky families. The summer support webpages offer information and resources to encourage students and families to make learning a part of daily summer routines. Other resources available on the webpages include information for families and caregivers, and literacy, mathematics, and gifted and talented resources.

Districts participating in the Summer Boost: Reading and Mathematics Program include:

  • Adair County
  • Bourbon County
  • Bowling Green Independent
  • Bullitt County
  • Butler County
  • Calloway County
  • Carter County
  • Clark County
  • Erlanger-Elsmere Independent
  • Fairview Independent
  • Franklin County
  • Grant County
  • Henderson County
  • Henry County
  • Jackson Independent
  • Jefferson County
  • Lincoln County
  • Livingston County
  • Marion County
  • McCracken County
  • Meade County
  • Menifee County
  • Middlesboro Independent
  • Oldham County
  • Owsley County
  • Taylor County
  • Trimble County
  • Wayne County
  • Webster County