WASHINGTON -- “I know I can be what I want to be,” the recorded voice shouted from the gym’s loudspeaker, as the kids jumped and danced wildly in the bleachers.

Nearly 600 kids in the Heads Up program, dressed in bright orange T-shirts, filled the stands. Most of them come from the city’s poorest neighborhoods. For them, the song and their counselors’ encouragement was a reassurance that their summer in the classroom was worth the effort.

“I probably would have been home bored doing nothing, but instead [my tutors] encouraged me to go out and help the planet and everything,” said Briana Davis, 10, who finished her first summer with the Heads Up program.

Every year, the program helps low-income children sharpen their skills in reading, writing and arithmetic in an attempt to avoid the “summer slump.” Studies show kids forget some reading and writing skills over the long vacation and suggest the slump is especially noticeable in the poorest neighborhoods.

Throughout the six-week program, students receive classroom instruction, complete a community service project and take field trips. The ultimate goal, organizers said, is to better prepare students for the coming school year.

“We’re trying to help them get a head start on the next school year, but [also] a head start on life in general,” said Trineka Greer, a program coordinator.

In their final event of the summer, the children showed off their hard work, displaying group projects and performing skits they practiced in class. Rows of poster boards sat in the back of the gym, covered with historical pictures, cotton-ball clouds, foam solar systems and drawings of animals. Later, a group of older girls were met with wild applause as they clapped and stomped through a step dance.

“I admire the kids who come here and take the time out of their summer to come and learn,” said Leon Clark, a volunteer tutor.

Clark is from Washington and studies education at Shaw-Howard University. He led a third-grade class this summer and said he wants to teach third-graders when he graduates.

While it’s been inspirational for tutors, students like Diante Roach, 12, say they’ve also enjoyed the summer experience.

“[My teacher] taught us how to be respectful because he said later on in life we’re going to have to do this and if we don’t do it then we’re not going to make it in life,” Roach said.