Three Ways To Fight Summer Brain-Drain and Help Low Income Students

by Carol Scott · 2010-07-25 11:58:00 UTC
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Ah, summer. Time to slather on some SPF 50, drop your little one off at Camp Whispering Pines for six weeks and head to the beach with a trashy novel. Sounds divine - unless you're part of a low-income family, where summer vacation can mean an endless expanse of unstimulating hours that send them back to school lagging behind their peers.

While a little boredom is good for the soul,  summer brain-drain is disturbingly concentrated in low-income kids. One study found that low-income children lose more than two months of reading achievement over the summer, while middle-class kids actually make small gains. Kids from all economic groups come back to school rusty on their multiplication tables and other repetition-based subjects, as well - canceling out months of studying.

Research shows three ideas to stop summer brain-drain:

1. Stretch out the school year. This tactic adds days to the school year, soothing some who worry that the U.S. is behind other nations when it comes to face-time with teachers. But will adding more instruction days stimulate more learning, or just lead to teacher and student burnout?

2. Beef up summer offerings. Programs around the country are offering innovative courses to students over the summer months, but demand outstrips supply. Also, some parents complain that courses in their districts offered are solely remedial -- creating the dreaded "summer school" stereotype: easy classes, unmotivated teachers and kids who want to be anywhere but the classroom.

3. Change the school calendar. This proposal - favored by year-round schools --spreads vacation days throughout the year, so that kids don't have large gaps in the summer.

While the first idea would mean a massive cultural shift, and the third has gotten mixed reviews (an Ohio State study found that students in year-round schools didn't perform any better or worse than students in traditional schools), the second shows promise. Every child deserves to learn and grow throughout the year, no matter how much money their parents make. Making quality summer programs available to any child who needs or wants them would be expensive - but so is the summer brain-drain.

To help low-income students fight the summer slide, let's support creative, innovative summer programs so that learning can happen year-round - no Camp Whispering Pines required.

Photo credit: (nutmeg)

Carol Scott is the Education Editor for Change.org.
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