Local Program Fights Summer Learning Loss

Summer learning loss, colloquially known as the summer slide, is when children lose some of what they've learned in school over the break. 

A local program to address this expands with a new pre-K program this year. The 100 Black Men Summer Academy starts Wednesday, and Director Keli Reese says the pre-K has one open spot but the larger program is full -- with a waitlist of more than 70 students.

She says it is essential to address the summer slide. In fact, she says it's such a problem that even standardized tests like the NWEA assume students will suffer from summer learning loss.

"As students get out of school at the end of May and there's anywhere from seven to nine weeks of summer where they're not engaged, by the time they start school again in August they've lost some of the learning," says Reese. 

She says the academy is important in that it will help kids not only maintain their learning but grow it.

"To have that academy allows our students to not only maintain what they've learned but to also grow over the summer, so that when they start again in August there's a significant amount of growth and readiness for our kids," Reese says. " 

The academic subjects covered include math, language arts, stem and social life sciences. 

Reese says next year’s goals include continued expansion and a computer for every student.