Rising
third graders start summer school today. The five-week sessions are
held at every elementary school in the district, running from June 22 –
July 2 and August 3 – 20, from 9 a.m. until noon. Breakfast and lunch
are offered at every site.
The free Step Up to Third Grade summer program is designed to keep
students’ skills strong over the summer. The sessions emphasize using
technology with reading, writing and math.
“Third grade is a critical year for students,” said Kyra Donovan,
director of Elementary Education. “In third grade, students transition
from learning to read to reading to learn. Hosting summer sessions at
our schools gives students a boost and a better chance at success during
the regular school year.”
This is the second year of the program and, according to Donovan,
last year’s fall assessments for participating students showed their
reading and math skills stayed strong over the summer.
“Part of our goal is to reduce the summer regression for literacy and math,” said Donovan.
According to the National Summer Learning Association,
all young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in
educational activities during the summer, and most students lose about
two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills
over the summer months.