Children who are not engaged in learning between school years suffer from “summer learning loss.” Many of the achievement gaps that continue to exist for disadvantaged students today result not from students falling behind during the school year but rather losing out on chances to learn over the summer.
Did you know that if a young person reads only five books over the summer, the effect “is potentially large enough to prevent a decline in reading achievement scores from the spring to the fall?” footnote 1
Did you know that if a young person is read to at least three times a week, that person is twice as likely to score in the top 25% of reading? footnote 2
Commit yourself and a team of your friends, family, and neighbors to help young people close the summer learning gap by joining Volunteer To Serve. This tool kit will give you the basics to start a reading program from scratch, recruit a team, organize your group, and make an impact.
1. Kim, Jimmy; (2004): 'Summer Reading and the Ethnic Achievement Gap', Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 9:2,169 – 188
2. Children's Reading and Mathematics Achievement in Kindergarten and First Grade, NCES, p. 16, p. 20