First Baptist Church of Hampton CDF (Children’s Defense Fund) Freedom School
A Place to Learn. A Place to Grow.
What is the Freedom School
The First Baptist Church of Hampton (FBCH) Freedom School is an educational and cultural enrichment program that fosters an environment that supports young people (known as “Scholars”) to excel and to believe in their ability to make a difference in themselves as well as their families, schools, communities, country, and world through hope, education, and action. Our primary focus on literacy and culture provides access to high-quality books that deepen their understanding of themselves and all they have in common with others. The program helps foster Scholars’ love for reading to avoid summer learning loss. The Freedom School is a free six week summer program that serves 50 Scholars entering 1st-5th grades.
Our Pillars
- High-quality academic and character-building programming
- Parent and family involvement
- Social, cultural, and historical awareness
- Civic engagement and social action
- Nutrition, physical, and mental health
FBCH CDF Freedom School
When: June 22, 2026 – July 31, 2026
(Closed July 2-3, 2026 for 4th of July Holiday)
Daily – 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Where: First Baptist Church of Hampton CDF Freedom School
229 North King Street, Hampton, Virginia 23669
Who’s Eligible to Attend
Freedom School Scholars and their families commit to attending all six weeks of the program.
Think The Freedom School is the place for your Scholar? Applications for The Freedom School will be available on February 2 and are due by February 16. Scholars will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Acceptance decisions will be made by March 1.
A Typical Day
Every day is an adventure at The Freedom School. Scholars are exposed to art, science, history, reading, and more all with a focus on stimulating curiosity while having fun. We start each day with Harambee which means “all pull together” in Swahili. Scholars and Freedom School participants come together to share and celebrate; and, every day a community member joins us to read a story.
With a focus on developing strong reading skills each day, scholars will discover the joy of reading, participate in arts and crafts activities, explore age-appropriate social justice topics, and participate in team-building and character-building activities.
The Freedom School will also take scholars on field trips to local museums, nature walks, and other Hampton Roads points of interest. Every day will expose scholars to new things and new ways to look at themselves, the communities in which they live, and the world. For more information about The FBCH Freedom School, see our frequently asked questions or email freedomschool@thefbch.org.
Meet Our Team
We are also fortunate to have over 80 volunteers who support the program by performing a wide range of tasks from meal service to classroom support to chaperoning field trips, and more. Our program would not function without our dedicated volunteers.
Our team ensures that your Scholar is surrounded by people who care for them and work hard to ensure they get the most out of their Freedom School experience.
Parent Engagement
Noted in our pillars, parents and family play an important role in Freedom Schools. Families are required to send a representative to a weekly parent engagement meeting where they will learn what their Scholar has learned that week. Parents and families will also learn to become policy advocates that drive positive change in a wide range of issues facing children and families.
The Children’s Defense Fund encourages its Freedom Schools and their parents to advocate for public policy related to:
(1) positive youth development
(2) civics education
(3) workforce development
(4) culturally responsive pedagogy, and
(5) equitable education funding formulas.
Parents who are unable to attend a Parent Engagement meeting, are required to volunteer two hours during the program day for every missed meeting. Our parent engagement meetings are a great opportunity to come together as a community to support our Scholars and The Freedom School. Materials from our parent engagement meetings can be found on our online Parent Center.
Support the Freedom School
The FBCH Freedom School program would not be successful without the support of individuals, organizations, and businesses like yours. There are several ways that you can support the important work that we do at The Freedom School.
Adopt A Scholar
A key tenet of The Freedom School is that our Scholars and families can participate in the program at absolutely no cost to them. That means they don’t pay for meals, supplies, books, programming, field trips, or any other expenses we incur. Our goal this year is to serve 50 Scholars, and our vision is to serve even more in the years to come. You can help by adopting a Scholar. Donate $300.00 annually or $50.00 a month to support this years’ Scholars and Scholars in the years to come. To adopt a Scholar, visit our Donate page.
Provide Supplies
You would be amazed by how many supplies we use during our 6-week curriculum. You can help by visiting our Wish List.
Donate Books
Not only do our Scholars read every day during our D.E.A.R (Drop Everything and Read) time, at the end of the program our Scholars can start, or add to, their personal library by taking books home. We accept age-appropriate books for 1st – 5th graders. We accept new and gently used books from all authors but work hard to build our collection of books by Black and Brown authors. Every child deserves to see themselves in the books they read. If you are interested in donating books, email us at freedomschool@thefbch.org.
Corporate Sponsors
We’ve only received rave reviews from our Scholars and their families, and every year to date our year-end Scholar assessments have yielded positive results in both reading comprehension and cultural and emotional growth. Monetary or in-kind donations can help us provide transportation, field trips, special programming, and more ensuring the best experience for our Scholars. If your organization is interested in the growth and character building of young people we would like to talk with you. Reach out to our Corporate Engagement team member at cdoctor@thefbch.org for more information.
Of course, we also accept monetary donations online by clicking on the donate button below.
We’ve only received rave reviews from our Scholars and their families, and every year to date our year-end Scholar assessments have yielded positive results in both reading comprehension and cultural and emotional growth. We invite you to become part of our winning team.
Questions or additional ideas? Email freedomschool@thefbch.org and someone will promptly reach out to you.