IU Indianapolis School of Education Freedom Schools Summer Program Fund

School of Education - Indianapolis

This vital 6-week summer enrichment experience and multicultural curriculum for school children focuses on literacy and civic engagement. The Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools program is proudly rooted in the American Civil Rights Movement and the courageous efforts of college-age youth to make a difference.

This fund supports the expenses incurred—by the School of Education or the Center for Africana Studies and Culture at IU Indianapolis—for the Freedom Schools Summer Program.

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IU Indianapolis School of Education Freedom Schools Summer Program Fund

School of Education - Indianapolis

This vital 6-week summer enrichment experience and multicultural curriculum for school children focuses on literacy and civic engagement. The Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools program is proudly rooted in the American Civil Rights Movement and the courageous efforts of college-age youth to make a difference.

This fund supports the expenses incurred—by the School of Education or the Center for Africana Studies and Culture at IU Indianapolis—for the Freedom Schools Summer Program.

Additional Info

Each summer, the IU School of Education at IU Indianapolis collaborates with the Center for Africana Studies and Culture and other community partners across the campus and city to bring our faculty, staff, and program resources to a local elementary school. IU Indianapolis students serve as Servant Leader Interns, who are trained both locally and through a national training in Knoxville, Tennessee. They teach the Children's Defense Fund Freedom School Integrated Reading Curriculum and lead afternoon activities based on art, science, and social justice. Additionally, the program provides nutritious meals and snacks while scholars participate during the day. Snacks are sent home with children for weekend sustenance.

This program is patterned after the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Freedom Schools that were embedded into the structure of the famed Freedom Summer in 1964. Freedom Schools were an alternative to Mississippi’s institutional neglect of Black school-aged students. The SNCC Freedom Schools' pedagogical culture set an example of using education as a force for equity and social justice by using discussion and critical thinking as a way to inform its students' self-determination.

Since 2017, IU Indianapolis has sponsored a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School site at locations around Indianapolis, including George Buck Elementary and Ernie Pyle Elementary. Annually, the site serves 50 kindergarten through fifth-grade children and is co-sponsored by the School of Education and the Center for Africana Studies and Culture. The Freedom Schools program plays a critical role in engaging young learners and educators beyond the classroom and throughout the year.

Gifts to this fund have provided:

  • Access to summer literacy and civic engagement for 50 scholars
  • Daily nutritious meals for scholars and educators
  • Training for education students and staff 

Making your gift can help IU Indianapolis continue to provide this one-of-a-kind experience to children in our community. Thank you!

Important Disclosures

Please note, the name and purpose of the fund displayed on this page constitute the authorized description of the fund by the Indiana University Foundation, Inc. Your gift supports the fund as described herein.

In July 2024, IUPUI will become Indiana University Indianapolis and will no longer be affiliated with Purdue University. The Indiana University Foundation, Inc. will update all fund titles and fund descriptions for IUPUI funds to reflect this change, and funds intended for Purdue’s School of Engineering and Technology will be transferred to Purdue under the agreement between IU and Purdue. Until July 2024, gifts to this fund will continue to be administered by the Indiana University Foundation, Inc., on behalf of IUPUI.