When we think of summer, we think of hot weather, pools and most- importantly for those kiddos, NO SCHOOL! Parents, teachers and caregivers alike all know how exciting that last day of school can be for a child, but we often forget about one HUGE detail. SUMMER LEARNING LOSS. For more than a century summer vacation has been recognized as a period when students’ rate of academic development declines when compared to the school year. Did you know that kids can lose up to three months of grade level equivalency during the summer due mainly to out of school influences and lack of summer learning opportunities!?
This summer learning loss is primarily seen in the areas of Reading and Mathematics. Most students typically demonstrate lower scores on standardized tests at the end of the summer verses the beginning of the summer (White, 1906; Entwisle & Alexander 1992; Cooper, 1996; Downey et al. 2004). During this time, children are more likely to experience more rapid weight gain as they may not be as physically active as during a normal school day.
So now that we know the statistics, what can we do about it? That is where Horizon Education Centers comes into play! Horizon strives to provide a safe, healthy and fun summer camp. But most importantly, we provide a summer learning opportunity for children of all ages, stages, and background. Our summer camp is a lesson planned/theme based ten week program. During our summer program, we encourage summer reading through short silent sustained reading periods as well as encouragements such as prizes and awards. We keep kids minds busy so that they are less likely to lose the important brain power that they have accumulated over the previous school year. Our teachers are experiences, trained and have multiple resources available to them to keep kids minds active to reduce summer learning loss.
Horizon also stresses the importance of parent involvement and provides families with meaningful strategies and resources that can be carried over into the home. The more time spent preventing summer learning loss, at home and during a summer program, the less likely the need for costly remediation in the future.
Horizon’s summer camp for 2013 is packed full of fun and exciting field trips, lessons and fun. Each site will have a pool day, library day and one exciting field trip. All of this and preventing summer learning loss! Summer registration begins on April 8th and spots fill up quickly. If you are interested, please contact your Horizon Education Center for more information and an enrollment packet.
Visit www.horizonohio.org to schedule a tour today!
