- All kids look forward to summer break, but now long-term studies prove kids are losing crucial academic skills during that downtime; it's called the summer slide.

Today, we take you inside one big city school district that found an innovative way to keep kids engaged during the summer months.

(lively music) We'll also introduce you to amazing programs online, (lively music) and we'll tell you all about new trends and state-of-the-art services available at your local library.

(lively music) We're talking about preventing the summer slide.

So stay with us.

IQ Smart Parent starts right now.

(lively music) Welcome to IQ Smart Parent.

I'm your host Darieth Chisolm.

And today we're all about preventing the summer slide, but that doesn't mean an end to the summer fun.

Educational experts around the country are coming up with new ways to keep all kids engaged at all ages year round.

And I'm very happy to introduce you to one of those experts right now, Larry Smith of the National Summer Learning Association.

Thank you so much for joining us, Larry.

So let's frame this issue of the summer slide.

What is it and what's happening?

- Sure, well, thank you Darieth.

So as you mentioned in your introduction, it's about kids losing crucial academic skills over the summer.

Studies for about a hundred years, several different studies have shown that kids are at risk if their brains aren't kept engaged in the summer, in reading and math, of losing some of the learning that they had from the previous year.

Several different cities' studies have shown that kids can lose, can turn out in the fall to be behind where they were the previous spring.

- Are we talking about a particular age range?

I mean, is this younger children, kids in high school?

- So all ages are vulnerable to the risk of summer learning loss.

Low-income students are more vulnerable than on the average than middle income or higher income students.

Studies have generally been about elementary school aged kids, and that's particularly crucial because learning losses that happened during the summers over those first six years can be cumulative, can turn out to be that kids when they're trying to enter middle school can be a long way behind their peers say in the middle-class, middle income students.

And that by the time they get to high school, it can present such a problem that students are at much greater risk of dropping out and not even finishing high school.

And so we can look back and see that one of the greatest predictors of poor performance in high school is in fact, children that are not on grade level in third grade with their reading.

And they're not able to make that transition from learning to read, to reading to learn.

- And so are there particular academic skills that are being lost or across the board?

Are you finding it's more math versus reading?

- It's really both.

Kids can lose between two and three months of their learning in reading and in math.

And it really puts them behind in the new school year where teachers then have to spend time reviewing and catching kids up to where they were before and it prevents them from moving forward like they otherwise could.

- You mentioned how this summer slide affects families in lower income communities.

Let's explore the relationship between family income and summer learning and see how achievement suffers over time.

- [Announcer] Let's look at two children, one from a middle income family, the other from one of the millions of low income American families.

As the two kids head off to kindergarten, look what happens.

The middle-income child starts out with a six month lead.

The low-income child is already falling behind because of a lack of access to early reading and preschool education.

During their year in kindergarten and the same school and classroom, the two children will learn at about the same rate.

So we'll move them both forward nine months.

But look what happens in that first summer between kindergarten and first grade, our middle-income child moves ahead about a month in reading because learning of one kind or another continues over the summer.

The low-income child falls back about two months.

So when school begins again, when they go back for first grade, the gap between them has already widened.

During first grade, again, they move ahead at about the same rate, another nine months.

That next summer, the activities and lifestyle of the middle income family keep that child moving forward, but the low-income child has fewer opportunities to reinforce good habits like reading and that child falls farther behind.

Then we come to second grade and again, our two children learn at the same rate, but the summer after second grade sets our low-income child back again, and our middle income child moves forward again.

And the gap widens again.

By just the third grade, the two children are already far apart.

By the end of fifth grade, the gap between the children is two and a half to three years.

It will keep growing through middle school.

So you see, without addressing what's happening during the summer, it is impossible to ever catch up.

It's impossible to close the gap, no matter how much high quality learning goes on from September to June, every year, the gap widens.

- We're talking about the summer slide and we're joined now by another guest, Christine Cray, Director of the Summer Dreamers Academy, a free summer learning camp launched by the Pittsburgh Public Schools back in 2010.

Thank you so much for being here.

So let's talk a little bit about how it got started and the success you're having.

- So we began in the summer of 2010, as you said, our district superintendent had just attended a conference run by the National Summer Learning Association and learned a lot of the data around summer slide and thought we have to do something about this here in Pittsburgh.

So we had stimulus dollars and were deciding how to spend those funds to get the most impact for our students and thought running a summer learning camp for our middle grades youth was the way to go.

- So you started with middle schoolers and then you've expanded.

- We currently serve students who have completed kindergarten through seventh grade within the school district.

- Not high schoolers, but kindergarten through seventh grade.

- Correct, the district does have summer programming for our high school students as well, but Summer Dreamers focuses on our elementary and middle.

- What types of learning are they doing?

What's the coursework?

What's the curriculum over the summer?

- So we call ourselves the summer learning camp.

We aim to take all of the benefits of a summer school experience and all of the fun of a summer camp experience.

Students have academic classes in reading and math, but it's not school as usual.

We have a curriculum that we work with our colleagues on, so that it's aligned with what students see during the school year.

It's taught by teachers, but it's very fun.

Kids are learning math through games, performing to practice their reading skills.

- Do they get to choose and develop or choose what curriculum they want to take part in?

- So the choice mainly comes in in the afternoon activities.

We have a variety of partners who offer great opportunities for our kids to engage in swimming or biking, science, community service, or the arts.

And we offer students the option to register for whatever program they want to do in the afternoon.

- So give us some insight on some of the success that you've had.

So maybe some success stories you want to share.

- So we hear a lot of great feedback from our campers and from our parents about how students are motivated to learn new things and excited to go back to school in the fall.

Our teachers also tell us some wonderful things before we're even able to share out our data after the summer has finished.

When students are coming back to school teachers know which of their youth have participated in Summer Dreamers and which haven't just by how they're approaching their studies when school starts back in the fall, - Wow that's pretty interesting that they really, this works at such a pace that they're able to determine that these kids who've been in the program have excelled over the summer months.

Great, that's good.

- I'd like to jump in, - Sure.

- with a point of view about the excellence of the Summer Dreamers Academy.

Each year, the National Summer Learning Association gives out an Excellence in Summer Learning Award.

And over the past few years, really the Summer Dreamers Academy has done very well in that process and really has earned its place as one of the top summer programs in the country.

- That's great.

Well, congratulations, that shows all the hard work and the type of success that you've been having.

So Larry let's look at the programs on a larger scale in terms of how they serve families, you know, over the summer, in terms of kids off the streets, maybe providing healthy meals for some families.

- Sure and in addition to that, it provides a very useful place for the kids to be taken care of for parents that have to get out to a job or two jobs, and really can't have their kids just sitting at home, being bored and maybe not being safe.

So it really provides really for everyone involved, it provides such a valuable service.

- And you mentioned even prior to the start of our show about really helping to serve families in terms of healthy meals and, you know, providing what they need over the summer.

Sure, a lot of summer programs now are also feeding sites where the kids can get the food that they need for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but also families from the community can come in and get the food that they need also.

So that gap that often has happened in the summer where kids and families don't have the access to the food resources, it really plugs that hole and makes the summertime a time when kids don't have to worry about hunger and then they can proceed with their learning.

- Absolutely, cause we know that obviously that impacts them as well.

I'm interested in knowing whether or not there are people who say, wait a second, kids really need the summer to have downtime and not necessarily learn and just have a lot of fun.

Do you get that response?

- Sure, I mean parents oftentimes take that point of view and Christine can speak a lot to this about the Summer Dreamers Academy, the summer programs that I see around the country, the kids are engaged, they're having fun and they're learning and it really can provide a richer experience for their summer than they would've had sitting at home watching a screen.

So why don't you talk about what you do at Summer Dreamers Academy?

- So we survey our campers and actually we've heard from the children that some of their favorite parts of the day are the reading and math classes that they're involved in.

We highlight for parents all of the different opportunities for their students to be involved in physical activities, to interact with their teachers and their peers in new ways.

It's not school as usual.

At the same time, we don't hide the learning that takes place.

We're proud of the outcomes that we get for students and we also tell families, summer learning at Summer Dreamers is wonderful, but there are other programs that might be more appropriate for their children.

- So tell me how is it that you know that you're making an impact?

- So we hear good things from students, families, and teachers, but we really also look at the data.

So we don't want to test kids over the summer, but we look at assessments that they take measuring their reading skills during the school year.

We look at what students are performing in their foundational reading skills before they leave school in the spring.

And again, when they return in the fall and we see students who've come to Summer Dreamers are outperforming their peers, which is wonderful.

Not only are we stemming summer slide, but we're actually making gains for kids.

- I want to jump in with, I had the privilege last summer of spending a day at the Summer Dreamers Academy.

And I want to speak about the opportunities that students have in the afternoon to choose what they want to do.

And there are great activities around the arts, around different kinds of active things that they can be doing.

But I sat in on a lot of the science electives and the kids having a great time, actually doing some real science experiments, but they were engaged.

It was project-based and they were having the greatest time learning science.

So they do a great job.

- Thank you.

- You know, given our, the budget restrictions, especially with schools these days, have you found that that's impacted you at all or affected your lineup or your ability to offer the program?

- So we try and streamline our programming to maintain high quality, but also cut costs where we're able.

We have fortunate that the district contributes a portion of our Title One allocation to fund the reading and the math classes that we do at Summer Dreamers.

And then we've got great community support.

We have generous funders in Pittsburgh that support programming and community partners that give staff and programming in-kind.

- Great, that's good to know.

Christine and Larry, thank you so much for being here on the show and sharing all of this great information about a national model for preventing the summer slide.

Your school district may not offer an onsite summer program, but that doesn't mean your child has to miss out on great summer learning opportunities.

Coming up, meet the vice president of a national nonprofit that's inspiring curiosity about the world through a summer camp, that's offered online.

But first, take a look at how kids around the country celebrated National Summer Learning Day.

- Summer Learning Day is a major national advocacy day, celebrated through 600 events across the country.

(lively music) Today our partners are inviting their communities in to experience firsthand the life changing impact of summer learning in meaningful and creative ways.

- We know that learning isn't a nine month endeavor.

Learning is a lifelong endeavor.

Over the years, I've watched the importance of summer learning gain.

- This past summer, the summer of 2013, I had the amazing opportunity with the summer program, learning about foreign policies, global issues and things happening outside of my own community that I didn't even know about.

- Children don't know their worth.

I believe that is so very true because I got a single mom.

I don't have a dad in my life.

I found father figures from a program like South Florida After School All Stars, that's what's given me confidence, that's what's kept me going.

- I imagine that maybe some of you are still wondering why the first lady came to hear about what you're doing this summer.

This summer is actually one of the most important times of the year for young people like you.

Because if you've got big dreams and I know you all do, if you want to go to college, want to get a good job.

If you want to make the most of your potential, then summer can't just be a vacation.

It's really a time to try to get ahead.

No matter what kind of dreams you have for yourselves, you've got to use every minute wisely to reach those dreams.

And that starts with being strategic about your summers.

(lively music) - Not all summer learning has to take place at a school.

Our second stop for summer learning is the web and Camp Wonderopolis.

With us now is Emily Kirkpatrick of the National Center for Families Learning.

Emily, your nonprofit operates this website, Wonderopolis.

I think it's such a cool name (laughs).

So tell me how it's serving kids and families.

- So Wonderopolis brings the fun and the passion back into learning by playing on the inquiry, the interesting things about the world around us.

We approach learning through a curious question each and every day, the wonder of the day.

- That's a great way to look at it.

And so why is it that you think that it stands out as a unique and useful website?

- For several different reasons.

One at 5AM every morning, learners of all ages can wake up to the day's wonder.

So something is new each and every day.

That's a fundamental component to it.

A second reason is anyone across the world can contact Wonderopolis and submit their curious question and our editorial team considers writing wonders of the day in the spirit of that question from an audience member.

So it's very responsive to our community.

It's also content across every discipline.

You know, certainly the fundamental ingredient is literacy, reading, writing, critical thinking, but it's literacy across all content areas.

So there's something for everyone.

From sports to environmental ideas and concerns to STEM and engineering.

There's something for everyone.

And it really goes back to the basics with education.

You know, we all have questions inside of ourselves and Wonderopolis helps draw them out and remind ourselves of just how interesting our world really is.

- Do you find that when someone then goes and poses a question, that they return obviously looking for the answer and how interactive really is the audience with the website?

- When they've left us a curious question, and we write something in the spirit of their idea, they're recognized on the site with their name and the city and state or country from where they reside.

So that's a very special ingredient.

Every comment that our audience leaves us on the site receives a tailored response from a staff member behind the curtain at Wonderopolis in CFL's office.

So that's very special.

We're responding to the community, we're honoring and acknowledging the interest and the dedication of the learner.

- Now we're talking about specifically this summer slide in summer learning.

And so how is it that Wonderopolis works with kids and families over the summer?

- So we believe that the learning should indeed not stop and we even want to take it up a notch with Wonderopolis over the summer months.

And we do that by offering a free virtual summer camp known as Camp Wonderopolis.

We've been offering it for several years now.

Each year, the audience grows, we add new features and ideas.

Right now, if you log on, you can register completely free of charge.

It's available and interesting and valuable to learners across the age span.

And you can collect your own wonder cards that are digital.

You can run through the content as quickly as you want, maybe a week, or you can stretch it out over the summer, over seven or eight weeks.

So it's truly self-paced and there's content and experiences that are of interest to everyone.

- How do these elements encourage kids and keep them excited about learning?

- Well, again, back to the curious question, it's all themed around the mission to wonder.

So we're encouraging children, again, children of all ages, it's the child in all of us to look up, to inspire about the world around us, and then to continue the learning.

It's not just about reading and it's not just about the written passages and the literacy, but we're also offering maker activities.

So parents and children can put their desktop tablet aside and pick up household activities and engineer, make a bridge, for example, out of everyday household items.

So we're really encouraging learning by doing as well as learning digitally.

- And that's a great way to keep the entire family involved, get away from the computer and do something in the maker spirit so to speak.

The relationship with Wonderopolis and libraries, how are they using it?

- We very much appreciate and believe in libraries approaching education and literacy in new ways and very much acknowledge libraries, owning summer learning kind of in local communities over the summer.

So we partner with libraries all across the country to offer content through Camp Wonderopolis, to support them through activities and special packages that we can send for very nominal charges.

And we are so appreciative of parents and children coming into libraries over the summer to learn, to ignite that love of learning and continue it through the summer months.

Libraries are invaluable partners.

So Camp Wonderopolis can serve any parent watching the show directly, or you can dial your local library or visit your local community center and ask for it there.

- How does Wonderopolis work as a family activity?

- Wonderopolis offers content that's interesting to the adults, the caregiver, as well as the child.

So that's first and foremost, the family activity.

And then around the content that we offer, we give ideas and structured examples of activities where learning is large and the ingredients, the how to on behalf of the adult is very manageable.

So they're extension activities, they're conversation starters with prompts, additional questions through vocabulary words.

We literally surround the learner, the family with as many essential tools to learning around curiosity around the world around us as we possibly can.

- Emily, thank you so much for sharing all of this great information about Wonderopolis and speaking of libraries, they've always been a great place for summer learning, but many libraries today are transforming.

Watch this.

- [Announcer] Libraries are the new community hub and books are just the beginning.

A 2015 report released by the American Library Association says our society has changed the way it consumes information and libraries are changing too.

According to the report, libraries provide digital inclusion by offering free access to 21st century tools necessary for education and for employment.

The survey also revealed that two thirds of Americans believe libraries improve the quality of life in a community, prevent the summer slide and enjoy free resources year round at your local library.

- According to that state of the American library report that we just heard about, another growing trend is libraries offering makerspaces.

And our next guest knows all about that.

Welcome Annisha Jeffries of the Art Lab at the Cleveland Public Library.

So you've essentially turned an unused space in the library into this Art Lab.

Tell us about some of the programs and activities that are going on there.

Many of the activities that we have in the Art Lab are sewing, paper-making arts and crafts, a whole host of activities that children can come and be creative with their families.

- So essentially people would come to the library obviously to check out books.

But now you've got this maker-space, this place where kids and families can do hands-on activities.

- It's all about experiences because we want to know what people want from the library.

We're becoming more relevant.

We have robotics, we have other activities, programs that we want to encompass and bring families together to do so many different things.

And the Art Lab is one of them.

It's been open for a year.

And it's just been a big hit with the library in general.

- Since we're talking a lot about summer slide in this episode, what is it that you want parents to know about combating the summer slide, utilizing the library?

- We want parents to know that the library is about what you want.

What do you want to gain?

What do you want from your experience when you come in there?

So if you want to learn poetry, if you want to do, have a poetry slam, you can do that.

If you want to engage in a book club, you can do that.

If you want to create a commercial, you can do that at our tech central space.

I mean, there's so many things that you can do at the library and your children can do that as well.

When you're away from school, the library is there for you.

And we just want parents to know that it's a safe space.

It's a place that you can gather.

It's a social hub.

It's an area where everyone, all families can come together no matter what age.

- Do you find that now as a result of having this art lab and the maker-space available, that that is becoming a big draw and an attraction for them?

- It really is.

I mean, the library is not the library of the 20th century.

It's the 21st century library.

And so what we're noticing is is that parents are, they need a place to bring their children free.

And that's the key.

We are free.

We offer so much, we have video equipment that teens can come and utilize.

We have so many avenues where people can come and just do a whole host of activities.

And that's where we're noticing a big surge of attendance.

- What about attracting tweens and teenagers?

- We do that too.

And so when we have, cause we have a teen space that's across the hall from the art lab.

And so if a sibling who is a teen goes to our teen space and a tween, can't come into the teen space.

They can come to the art lab and do an activity there.

- So keeping everyone engaged regardless of their age.

- And we invite parents too.

Sometimes parents want to sit on the sidelines and we invite them to take part in the craft as well.

- Anisha Jefferies, thank you so much for being here and a part of our program today.

Whether in school, online or at your local library, communities are full of exciting summer learning opportunities.

We hope your family takes advantage of them.

So your child can end the summer full of knowledge and ready for a great new school year.

Thanks for being here.

And we'll see you again next time on another edition of IQ Smart Parent.

- [Announcer] Want to learn more about IQ Smart Parent?

Visit us online at iqsmartparent.org for more episodes and additional tools and resources.

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to share your thoughts on being a 21st century parent.

(lively music) IQ smart parent is made possible in part by the McCune Foundation and the Grable Foundation.