Summer Learning Loss

Ensuring access to summer learning for all students

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The research is clear that summer and after-school programs provide numerous benefits to students. According to a study by John Hopkins University, during the summer months children living in low-resource communities who are not engaged in activities tend to fall into a “summer slide,” while their peers from more economically advantaged communities build skills that will help them succeed. Students without positive summer activities lose nearly two months of competency in reading, and these losses are cumulative. By ninth grade, summer learning loss accounts for nearly two-thirds of the achievement gap in reading. Also well-documented are the negative impacts on health: youth without summer learning programs gain weight at a higher rate than during the school year. This is particularly true for children and youth of color and those who are already overweight.

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Cracking the Code to a Successful Summer Reading Program

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What could happen when students are engaged with just-right, high-interest books over the summer months? At Orange County Public Schools (FL), a six-week summer reading academy increase average Lexile scores by 44%. In the summer of 2015, South Berwyn, Illinois, a district where 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch and 90% are English language learners, defied the odds and not only avoided summer slide but experienced a significant increase in reading proficiency.

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Why do summer learning and wellness programs matter?

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This is the first in a series of articles focusing on strategies to promote student learning and wellness during the summer break from school. This installment presents an overview of the topic and the importance of effective summer programs in helping to close the achievement gap.

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Close to Home: Rethinking Summer and Summer School

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I propose that we retool the old summer school model into summer enrichment camps that focus on 21st century skills. These summer programs would employ teachers who have expertise in applying instructional strategies that foster critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication skills in our students. They would work in partnership with nonprofit and other youth-serving organizations, public libraries and others to provide full-day learning and enrichment camps.

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Grade Level Reading: The Statisticks

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This video, produced by The Campaign for Grade Level Reading, highlights the challenges students from under resourced communities face, including due to a lack of summer learning opportunities.

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National Academy of Sciences Hosts Summer Learning Panel

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On August 25, 2016, The Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Science hosted a panel on summertime opportunities in Washington DC. The workshop validated the value of a summer learning approach not only for student academic achievement, but also for students’ health outcomes. A report outlining the workshop was just published.

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Announcing our Summer Matters Superheroes of 2016!

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It has been an amazing year for summer learning. Superintendents and districts across the state have been taking up the mantle to ensure their students have access to high quality summer learning programs. With such momentum and so many people standing up for summer, we are awarding three superheroes this year.

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Schools Out For Summer!

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For many of our children, June is still that month of transition. School ends and books get put away. Clothes now too tight and too short get discarded, and, in advance of summer camp, shopping lists get finalized and bags get packed.

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Program Spotlight: School on Wheels

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Summer Matters spoke with a representative from School on Wheels about their summer program. School on Wheels was founded in 1993 by a retired school teacher who saw first hand how homelessness affects children’s learning. The following is an excerpt from that interview.

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Preventing Summer Learning Loss

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Summer doesn’t have to mean learning loss. It can be a time of powerful learning for children if we ensure that there are many learning activities to engage them in. With or without a formal school based summer learning program or summer camp, the ideas below are simple yet important experiences that can lead to a love of learning and a growing vocabulary, both crucial for academic success.

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