Suncoast Remake Learning Days attracts more than 36,500 participants at expanded festival
Suncoast Remake Learning Days 2024, a regional festival that is part of the largest international learning festival globally, wrapped its 15-day run on May 4, attracting more than 36,500 residents of all ages who participated in at least one of the 304 interactive learning events held in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties.
The events were produced by 277 community organizations that partnered with Suncoast Remake Learning Days for the third and largest festival to date. The festival expanded from 10 to 15 days in 2024 to include a third Saturday because of its popularity, enabling kids and families additional time to participate.
Suncoast Remake Learning Days is presented locally by the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. SRLD 2024 events were held at museums, libraries, schools, community centers, and other local venues. Events were organized by six learning themes: Arts, Maker, Outdoor Learning, Science, Technology, and Youth Voice. All of the learning events were designed to be accessible, open to the public, appropriate for any age, and free.
“We know family and parent engagement is a critical component in creating a strong educational ecosystem," said Beth Duda, director of the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and Suncoast Remake Learning Days for The Patterson Foundation. "Suncoast Remake Learning Days enables families to develop a deeper appreciation for learning together, as well as strengthening parent-child relationships and introducing parents and caregivers to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) learning.”
The inspiration for Suncoast Remake Learning Days is a mounting body of research indicating shared community exploration and learning improves students’ academic performance and social skills, exposing them to a world of opportunities, interests, and life-changing experiences.
“Suncoast Remake Learning Days is born from the imaginations of the 277 host organizations representing institutions throughout our region," said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. "Strengthened by guidance and resources from The Patterson Foundation, each has spent months conceptualizing and creating interactive learning opportunities that share their unique assets. It has been tremendously exciting to witness them turn their ideas into reality.”
The Patterson Foundation supports the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading at the national level and in the Suncoast region.
“The growing number of organizations that stepped forward to host an event in 2024 is making our Suncoast festival one of the fastest-growing Remake Learning Days festivals in the world," Duda said. "We are grateful to the Suncoast passionaries who presented hands-on learning experiences for joyfully inquisitive kids and their families in Charlotte, Desoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties."
A four-county collaboration
The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties helps children from birth through third grade, especially those from asset-limited families, succeed in life by ensuring they read on grade level. The Suncoast is one of the more than 390 communities in 44 states across the nation and in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada that participate in the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.
The Patterson Foundation is the regional accelerator with county specific work led by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, United Way Suncoast, and United Way of Charlotte County.
For more information, visit remakelearningdays.org/suncoast. Follow #SuncoastRemakeDays or #RemakeDays on social.
Submitted by Susan Yannetti
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Southwest Florida learning festival attracts over 36,500 participants
