Providence Journal
Julie Latessa is “bugging out” about summer learning. Dressed as a bumblebee with a black-and-yellow striped costume, gauzy wings and yellow antennae, she exhorts students to “bee” extraordinary.
Latessa runs the summer learning program for BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life) in Providence and Boston, a five-week course for elementary school students that blends math and English instruction with fun enrichment activities such as dance, art, music, theater, field trips and family outings.
This program and three others in the city are aimed at combating summer learning loss, which hits hardest in neighborhoods in which families don’t have access to quality enrichment programs.