Say Goodbye to the Summer Slide and Hello to the Summer Leap

Online, August 25, 2011 (Newswire.com) - We know that during summer months, most students tend to lose more than two months of progress. Educators typically referred to this summer loss as "summer slide." Summer break, although fun for the students, can present other challenges. Students can become bored and disengaged from academic pursuits. Many schools boards, policy makers, and educators agree that summer should be a time for learning and fun, and that combining both during the summer leads students toward better preparation for the next school year.

In our efforts to decrease the likelihood of unsupervised time and ramp up educative time, NCEBC, held a summer literacy program for students entering grades 2 through 6. Our camp was designed so that students received learning and fun! Students were engaged in reading/literacy and vocabulary, math, and science each morning for 30-minute increments. The afternoons included co-curricular enrichment activities, such as healthy living, sports, indoor and outdoor activities, arts and crafts, culinary arts, and music. Further, students were able to engage in cultural activities including a trip to the circus.

Results: From Summer Slide to Summer Enrichment
According to The Equity Institute (EI) evaluation report, students showed tremendous growth in three academic areas, science, math and reading. Students were tested weekly using ISTEP sample tests and quizzes and other unique learning technological tools such as Pearson Success Maker.

What did the improvement look like? In science, all three-class rotations showed an average gain of 17%. For example, in one of the classes, students who received scores of 60% at the beginning of the session typically scored around 77% by the end of the 5-week session. Math growth at the end of the five week period was tremendous with test scores increasing by approximately 40%. Even more surprising, in one of the math sections, all students scored between 90 and 100%! And, according to many of our students, they enjoyed math more than anything else offered during the summer.

How did we do it? Yes, we have a winning formula. It includes combining fun with academics, but most importantly, the key to success is found with the people involved in the teaching-learning process. We purposely hired teachers who were culturally engaged with a deep sense of care for all of the students, and teachers who gained a rapport with parents. We hired committed teachers who "loved and fussed" with the focus on ensuring that each child succeeded. We hired teachers who maintained high expectations for all students and who understood the importance of mutual respect between families, their children, and themselves. We attribute these characteristics, attitudes, and skills of that select group of teachers in conjunction with the curriculum and the fun activities, as the recipe for success that challenged the routine summer slide and launched the beginning of a summer educational leap.
For more information, please call 317-283-9081 or email the NCEBC [email protected]