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Out-of-School Time
National Summer Learning Week
National Summer Learning Week is a celebration dedicated to elevating the importance of keeping kids learning, safe, and healthy every summer, ensuring they return to school ready to succeed in the year. Research shows that summer learning loss during elementary school accounts for two-thirds of the achievement gap in reading between low-income children and their middle-income peers by ninth grade, according to data from the National Summer Learning Association.
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This serves as an opportunity for children to not only learn, but have fun through learning. It also helps prevent the summer slide (see below). It is July 10-14, 2023.
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It is L.O.U. Reads' goal to minimize and ultimately eliminate summer learning loss. The "summer slide" is a well-documented occurrence in which students, particularly students with limited educational and enrichment opportunities, lose ground academically over the summer. In the short-term, our specific goal is to increase participation in quality out-of-school time programs -- many of which provide both after- and summer-school -- with an explicit focus on reaching disadvantaged children and youth.
Our strategy centers on: strengthening and expanding existing out-of-school time (OST) programs; coordinating OST programs throughout the L.O.U. community; engaging traditionally non-academic programs to promote literacy; and promoting public awareness and parental engagement.
Current efforts include: building a professional learning community of local OST providers through monthly coffee hours on the 3rd Tuesday of every month from 9 am-10 am; developing and disseminating information for families on the many summer programs available in our community; launching a Summer Reading at Summer Feeding program; and continued enhancements to existing literacy-focused OST programs participating in the coalition.
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Let's Prevent the Summer Slide
The "summer slide" is a learning loss that occurs in children after an extended period of out-of-school time. Making sure your child continues learning over the summer is no easy task, but the Lafayette-Oxford-University Early Learning Collaborative is here to help!
The following kit contains items that will help you and your child over the summer. Inside is a parent guide that will make using the kit simple and fun for you and your child. These quality kits are costly, so please be sure to keep the kit pieces together to ensure your child gets the most out of each activity this summer.
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Additionally, remember to read to your child every day. This is one of the best things you can do to promote literacy, which will greatly help your child in all areas of academics. Lastly, please remember to have fun while spending time with your child. Trips to the library, park, grocery store, etc. can provide rich experiences for learning, so include these trips as much as you can.
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We hope you have a wonderful and safe summer!
The Summer Slide
The "summer slide" is a learning loss that occurs in children after an extended period of out-of-school time. Making sure your child continues learning over the summer is no easy task, but the Lafayette-Oxford-University Early Learning Collaborative is here to help!
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Remember to read to your child every day. This is one of the best things you can do to promote literacy, which will greatly help your child in all areas of academics. Also, please remember to have fun while spending time with your child. Trips to the library, park, grocery store, etc. can provide rich experiences for learning, so include these trips as much as you can.
We hope you have a wonderful and safe summer!
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