The Children’s Defense Fund’s (CDF) Freedom Schools® program is a free six-week long summer enrichment program where scholars are immersed in reading, comprehension, and critical thinking for 3-hours each morning. The program helps children fall in love with reading, increases their self-esteem, cultivates positive attitudes toward learning, and reduces summer reading loss—one of the major challenges affecting poor and working-class children. With the help of a researched-based curriculum that is based on culturally responsive books that reflect their own images and caring and supportive college students that serve as teachers, Freedom Schools successfully address summer reading loss and a related decrease in students’ motivation to read.
 
In addition to offering high-quality academic enrichment, CDF Freedom Schools supports children and families in the areas of parent and family involvement, civic engagement and social action, intergenerational leadership development, and health -- physical, mental, and nutritional. With the support of caring adults and communities we will aid our children’s successful journey into adulthood.
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The scholars we serve at the CDF Freedom Schools are primarily children who are members of underserved families. Attending our school is FREE for all families. We serve scholars in Kindergarten through 8th grade. We create a fun learning environment in every classroom where the child-to-teacher ratio is 10:1.
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The teachers at Freedom Schools, our next generation of leaders, are college students and recent college graduates. We invest in them by providing them training at the annual Ella Baker Child Policy Training Institute that is held at the CDF Alex Haley Farm in Clinton, Tenn. and at facilities in Knoxville, Tenn. We call our teachers Servant Leader Interns (SLIs) and the knowledge and experience they receive at the Training Institute prepares them well to teach the program and advocate for children.
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Our sites in Knox and Blount counties host up to 50 scholars, 5 Servant Leader Interns, and a Site Coordinator. Scholars receive breakfast, lunch, and a snack each day, one field trip per week, and a variety of afternoon activities including STEM, financial literacy, drumming, fitness, self-care, phonics, and art.