BEATING THE SUMMER LEARNING LOSS: URBAN SUMMER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
WHEREAS, all young people experience learning losses
when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer and
students score lower on standardized tests at the end of the summer than they
did on the same tests at the beginning of summer vacation; and
WHEREAS, students on average lose approximately 2.6
months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the
summer months regardless of socio-economic status; and
WHEREAS, low-income children and youth experience
greater summer learning losses than their higher income peers; and
WHEREAS, summer learning loss contributes to the
achievement gap in reading performance between lower and higher income children
and youth, and these are most prevalent during the elementary school grades; and
WHEREAS, large numbers of students who qualify for
federally subsidized meals do not have the same level of access to nutritious
meals during the summer as they do during the school year which translates to
more than 3 million of the 15.3 million children who receive free or reduced
lunch during the school year; and
WHEREAS, over 90% of summer school programs are
“remedial” targeting only students who were not on grade level and these
programs are typically intermittent interventions rather than substantive
programs to assist students in improving on their basic reading and math no
matter what their status; and
WHEREAS, mayors manage most summer recreational
programs that have little connection or coordination with the school system’s
summer school, but could be used as focused out-of-school time that includes
both academic and recreational experiences; and
WHEREAS, several cities have begun to make the
connection and develop comprehensive programs for elementary school learners
focused on building reading skills, and pre-kindergarten programs are being
included as part of court decisions involving state education funding adequacy
cases; and
WHEREAS, research results in several summer programs
that integrate reading instruction and tutoring along with other activities,
show significant reading score gains for participating children compared to
students who did not attend the summer intervention; and
WHEREAS, if policymakers are serious about improving
excellence and equity in public education, social science research suggests
that high-quality summer programs that include reading, academic enrichment,
and where appropriate work experience must become a significant and central
component in school reform,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED; that The U.S.
Conference of Mayors urges federal and state governments to establish policies
and programs to assist in high-quality summer enrichment experiences, and make
appropriations available to assist in the funding of high-quality summer
enrichment and camp programs for all children and youth throughout their
education; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED; that The U.S. Conference
of Mayors calls on mayors to take a leadership role in forming partnerships to
improve collaboration and leveraging of funds and resources (such as
Scholastic, Reading Is Fundamental, First Book, Houghton Mifflin, and Book It!)
from multiple sources to ensure greater levels of access to programs for all
children, but especially those most adversely affected by summer learning
losses; and
BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors believes these summer
reading and other academic programs must maintain high standards and
expectations for the participating children and use as models other successful
programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference
of Mayors supports high-quality summer learning that should be community-wide
and become a partnership of public agencies, community-based organizations,
cultural institutions, school systems, and colleges and universities to ensure
the highest quality and quantity of learning opportunities for all young
people, especially those most affected by the achievement gap.
©2004 U.S. Conference of Mayors 