SUMMER LEARNING
School’s out for summer, but the fun continues. Summer programs ensure students retain valuable knowledge they learn during the traditional school year. These programs improve reading and math skills, provide social, art and… play opportunities and deliver valuable consistency in the academic experience.
Over the past ten years, BEF incubated and helped grow Camp Achieve, an in-person summer school program that successfully counters summer learning regression by integrating academic learning with positive school experiences for elementary students. During the pandemic, Camp Achieve was adopted by the district for summer learning, and the district is bringing it to scale with public funding.
Now BEF is partnering with the same district educators who created Camp Achieve to develop the next generation of summer interventions for students — a program that provides students and families with the tools they need to engage in reading and math at home. Summer Boost started last year at five schools with 400 students, and expands this summer to 13 schools with 2,000 students.
“Summer Boost brings programming to the students, and makes it easier for families to help students maintain the daily habit of reading,” says Amy Chamberlain, principal at Cedar Mill Elementary, one of the driving forces behind Summer Boost. “We remove barriers like transportation and scheduling, while providing reading materials that really interest and engage the students.”
Before summer break, students filled bags with books, math games and other supplies that encourage their love of reading and math. To build community and excitement, Summer Boost begins and ends with celebrations, and a mid-summer check-in gives an opportunity for educators and students to connect in person.
“Summer Boost allows us to place high interest, just-right books in the hands of our striving readers. Because they are books that the students chose, they are more likely to read them,” explains Christina Batsell, principal at Terra Linda Elementary, who’s working closely with Chamberlain to scale up Summer Boost. “Our data from last summer shows that many students who needed a reading intervention in the spring no longer needed it in the fall.”
Summer Boost is funded by BEF’s Kids Count Grants program, recognizing extended day and summer programs that encompass the full range of BEF’s impact areas. Other summer grants for 2023-24 include Middle School Band Camp, Trades Exploration summer and after school programming and school-specific summer enrichment at three elementary schools.
