Summer vacation is a time of worry for teachers, principals, parents and policymakers who fear that students will lose ground during the long break. This summer, City Limits will look every week at some aspect of the citywide, summer-long effort to stop the summer slide.
Special-education students who are supposed to get 12 months of services sometimes face obstacles during the summer months, during which their risk of regression is greater than for other kids.
City Limits’ series on summer learning continues with a look at a Brooklyn program where learning to excel at science, technology, engineering and math involves learning—among other things—how to yelp.
There were 500 applicants for the 162 spots in a program that gives kids a chance to fly a flight simulator, staff Mission Control and program a robot—reflective of the larger challenges facing STEM education in New York.
The students at 826NYC are hunting a murderer—in the movie script they’re writing. But finding that fictional killer will be a lot easier than many kids’ real-life hunt for art programs to keep them stimulated over the summer break.
From distributing books in barbershops to recruiting a giant-sized Dora to explore the steps of City Hall, advocates and experts are trying to match inadequate public resources to the serious problem of summer break literacy losses.
School’s out for the summer, but the SchoolFood program is still distributing free, federally subsidized meals that fill stomachs and help facilitate programs that combat the summer slide.
Playing catch-up can be a way to avoid losing ground over the summer, but the evidence is far from conclusive.
The summer break is as much a season of concern as it is one of celebration. Over the coming months educators, parents, policymakers and non-profit organizations will work to stem any loss of learning that may impact students during their time away from the classroom.