Greater Clark Foundation expands support for Clark schools’ literacy program

Greater Clark Foundation | Press Release

WINCHESTER, Ky. — Greater Clark Foundation has announced an addi­tion­al $130,000 invest­ment in Clark County Public Schools’ (CCPS) Summer Flight Academy pro­gram, con­tin­u­ing its sup­port for efforts to help young stu­dents strength­en foun­da­tion­al lit­er­a­cy skills.

The fund­ing builds on a pre­vi­ous two-year invest­ment of $100,000, bring­ing Greater Clark Foundation’s total com­mit­ment to the pro­gram to $230,000.

Students are invit­ed to par­tic­i­pate in the Summer Flight Academy based on lit­er­a­cy bench­marks with pro­gram­ming host­ed at select school sites across the dis­trict. Transportation and meals are pro­vid­ed to remove bar­ri­ers to par­tic­i­pa­tion and ensure stu­dents can con­sis­tent­ly attend. Originally rec­og­nized as Literacy Liftoff, the CCPS pro­gram results showed an aver­age growth rate of more than 40 per­cent among stu­dents who attend­ed consistently.

Clark County Public Schools has since expand­ed the ini­tia­tive into Flight Academy, which now includes addi­tion­al learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties dur­ing the school year. Greater Clark Foundation’s invest­ment specif­i­cal­ly sup­ports the sum­mer Flight Academy pro­gram­ming in 2026 and 2027, help­ing stu­dents main­tain progress made dur­ing the school year and reduce sum­mer learn­ing loss.

Beginning in 2026, the sum­mer pro­gram will expand to include both lit­er­a­cy and math instruc­tion along with enrich­ment activ­i­ties that sup­port a well-round­ed learn­ing expe­ri­ence. Small class sizes, reg­u­lar assess­ments, and struc­tured instruc­tion allow edu­ca­tors to close­ly track stu­dent progress and pro­vide indi­vid­u­al­ized sup­port. As stu­dents return over mul­ti­ple sum­mers, the pro­gram also helps build trust­ed rela­tion­ships between young peo­ple and the edu­ca­tors and staff who invest their time in sup­port­ing their growth.

“Strong read­ing skills open doors for young peo­ple and shape the oppor­tu­ni­ties avail­able to them through­out their lives,” said Timothy Johnson, President and CEO of Greater Clark Foundation. “This part­ner­ship reflects a shared com­mit­ment to mak­ing sure stu­dents have the sup­port they need ear­ly on so they can grow and thrive.”

“Programs like Summer Flight Academy allow us to pro­vide tar­get­ed sup­port for stu­dents while also remov­ing bar­ri­ers that might pre­vent fam­i­lies from par­tic­i­pat­ing,” said Kelly Fithen, Chief Academic Officer and Assistant Superintendent for Clark County Public Schools. “Transportation, meals, and engag­ing instruc­tion make it pos­si­ble for stu­dents to stay con­nect­ed to learn­ing and con­tin­ue build­ing skills over the summer.”

Greater Clark Foundation’s con­tin­ued invest­ment reflects its com­mit­ment to sup­port­ing ini­tia­tives that strength­en edu­ca­tion­al oppor­tu­ni­ty and com­mu­ni­ty well-being in Clark County.