About Summerbridge

Summerbridge Louisville:  2019 dates TBD

Summerbridge Louisville (SBL) is a 6-week free summer school for Jefferson County Public School students who are rising 6th, 7th and 8th graders.  The focus of our school is to prepare and support talented underserved middle school students for greater academic success and strong character, emphasizing the basics of academics: math, reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.

SBL is modeled after a national program located in San Francisco, California, now renamed Breakthrough Collaborative. SBL program began in 1992 with 25 students. From 1992-2004, SBL was housed at Kentucky Country Day School. Since 2005, the summer program has been housed at Ursuline Campus (Sacred Heart Academy) located on Lexington Road.  SBL’s concept has over 30 years of success in “getting younger students into learning and older students into teaching”. (Newsweek 1990).

• Free six-week, full day, academic enrichment program in the summer
• Skills testing to help focus instruction at appropriate levels
• Art, multicultural programs, and sports included in the curriculum
• Mandatory after-school tutoring year-round for students whose grades drop to a C
• Students participation for two years with third year optional
• Classes taught by college student teachers recruited from our community
• Emphasis on providing role models and mentors for underserved students
• Celebrating student excellence

Executive Director and Board

Kate Lindsay, Executive Director

Kate was hired as the new Executive Director of Summerbridge Louisville in December of 2015.  Prior to joining SBL, Kate served for 13 years as the Director of Pro Bono and Public Service Programs at the Louisville Bar Association (LBA).  While at the LBA, she was responsible for creating and managing programs that targeted communities not typically capable of accessing and affording professional legal services.  In this role, she recruited attorneys to donate their time and talents to various non-profit organizations throughout Jefferson County, directed volunteer committees, wrote grants, managed the program budget, and assisted Central High School students enrolled in the Law & Government Magnet Program with career readiness.

Prior to joining the LBA, Kate worked for 10 years at the Metro United Way in the Community Investment Department responsible for allocating funds to member agencies.  She worked on a daily basis with volunteers, directors of non-profit agencies, and community leaders, with the overriding goal on improving the health and welfare of families in Metro Louisville and the surrounding areas.

Kate holds a Bachelors of Science from Centre College and a Masters of Science in Community Development from the University of Louisville.  As a native of Louisville, Kate is deeply committed to the community and is married with two children.

Summerbridge Board of Directors

2018 Summerbridge Board of Directors

Charles Stopher, Chair, 

Boehl, Stopher & Graves

Katherine Bell

U.S. Attorney's Office, W.D. KY.

Christine Payne, Secretary

University of Louisville

Lindsey Herr, Treasurer

Pricewaterhouse Coopers

Alexandra Bittel

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Phillip Bond, Jr.

KPMG

Sherry Durham

University of Louisville

Rebekkah Bravo Rechter, Secretary

Workers’ Compensation Board

Emily Skinner

Consultant, Historic Preservation

Gwen Young

In-House Counsel

Muhammad Ali Center