Growth Doesn't Take the Summer Off
“Summer Slide” and what we do about it
Marcus just finished fourth grade. He reads better today than he did last September. His math scores climbed. His teachers noticed. His mom noticed. It was a good year.
But summer is here. And for the next three months, Marcus won't have a classroom, a reading group, or a teacher checking in on his progress.
By the time he walks back into school this fall, he could be further behind than he is right now.
It's called the summer slide. Over the summer months, students who don't have access to regular learning opportunities “slide backward,” losing ground on what they’ve learned.
Research shows kids can lose up to two months of reading and math skills during a single summer break. That loss is real. Teachers see it every fall. Two out of three teachers say they spend the first three to four weeks of each school year reteaching what students learned the year before.
And the loss adds up. A student who falls behind one summer is more likely to fall further behind the next. Year after year, the gap widens.
The antidote for summer slide is simple. Keep learning. Keep reading. Keep working that muscle so the gains from the school year don't disappear.
Simple. But not easy.
For a lot of families, summer learning isn't a matter of motivation, it's a matter of access. When both parents work full time, or when a family can't afford a summer camp that costs more than a month's rent, the options narrow. The kids who need consistent learning the most are often the ones least likely to get it.
This is why Urban Ventures runs summer programming. And this is what Marcus' summer looks like.
For seven weeks, around 100 students in kindergarten through seventh grade come to Summer Ventures. The first step is assessment, so teachers can tailor the curriculum to each student. Mornings are built around math and reading, with lessons that are tailored to the specific needs of the kids in that classroom.
But mornings are only half the story. In the afternoons, students choose electives, from a photography class to cooking a healthy meal with the farm and nutrition team to learning about programming in the Innovation Center or picking up a new sport through athletics. The idea is straightforward. A kid who finds math hard might find a camera easy. A student who struggles with reading might be the best person on the field. Every kid deserves to feel great at something.
For older students, the summer looks a little different. Venture X brings around 50 teenagers together three days a week to grow as individuals and make a plan for their future. This year, every student will build a Launch Plan. They'll explore career paths, work with a coach, and leave the summer with a goal for after high school graduation, a person who knows their plan, and a concrete next step. Too many students move through their teen years without anyone helping them think about what comes next. Venture X changes that.
And in July, the next cohort of Lake Street Works begins. Sixty students will start a ten-month journey exploring careers in construction trades. One more way we’re making the most of summer.
Back to Marcus. When he walks into school this fall, he won't be starting over. He'll have spent his summer reading books at his level, working on the math concepts that challenged him, trying things he'd never tried before. He'll walk into fifth grade even further ahead. Ready to move forward. Ready to make the most of the next school year.
Growth doesn't take the summer off. Neither does Urban Ventures.
Your generosity is what fuels our work. To help kids continue making gains this summer, consider making a gift today.
