Everyone deserves a much-needed break from the school year, but once summer is underway, a countdown of sorts begins as parents wait for their children to utter those two little words: “I’m BORED!” While it can be difficult to hear your child complain about boredom incessantly, enrolling him or her in a summer program might not only save your sanity, it could also help your child avoid something researchers have termed “Summer Slide.”
Although it sounds like a cool ride at a water park, Summer Slide is no fun at all — the term refers to the learning loss the average student suffers each summer. Research shows that many students, particularly those not involved in some sort of engaging, constructive summer activity, start the next school year an average of 2 months behind where they should be. For students who are on grade level, the idea of losing 2 months or more of learning is alarming, but for those students who might not be performing at grade level in the first place, Summer Slide can be disastrous!
So what can parents do to combat Summer Slide and help students start the next school year strong? One of the best tools to help combat learning loss is to enroll students in an engaging, well-executed summer bridge program led by an experienced educator.
Raising the Bar’s summer bridge enrichment program allows students to refresh, relearn and master skills before the upcoming school year. Although summer bridge programs work best for students in grades K-5, students of all ages benefit from academic summer support, especially those who are assigned summer reading and comprehensive summer packets to complete before the first day of school. Just like our tutoring and academic coaching programs, our summer bridge program is tailored to meet the individual needs of the student and the goals each family has for their child.
