WHY SUMMER LEARNING MATTERS

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 in the fall ready to succeed in the year. Provided by the National Summer Learning Association (NSCLA,) here are key summer learning lost facts to be aware of:

The “summer slide” is what often happens to disadvantaged children during the summer months. They tread water at best or even fall behind, while higher-income children build their skills steadily over the summer months.
Most students lose two months of mathematical skills every summer, and low-income children typically lose another two to three months in reading.
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.
9 in 10 teachers spend at least three weeks re-teaching lessons at the start of the school year.
Minority children gain weight up to twice as fast during the unstable months of the summer as during the school year.
Without summer counseling and support, one-third of first-generation college attenders fall victim to the “summer melt” and fail to enroll in the fall, even after being accepted.
Waiting lists for summer youth jobs are in the thousands in most major cities, despite promising findings around reduced crime and mortality rates for participants.

This year, with the help from the NSCLA and National Summer Learning Week, the Y will focus on a new theme each day: Literacy, STEM, Arts, College & Career Readiness, and Nutrition and Wellness. It is our belief at the Y that a child's best summer ever includes learning and growing each and every day. Follow our journey this week as we provide resources and events on how we are celebrating #summerlearningweek!

Cited by: https://www.summerlearning.org/summer-learning-week/