Kansas City area focuses on summer reading
Children who experience the 'Summer Slide' lose the footing gained in the previous school year and are at a disadvantage when classes resume at the end of summer.
As summer draws to a close, students in the Kansas City area could be going back to school with an advantage.
Several Kansas City initiatives have worked this summer to battle the 'summer slide' by connecting families with resources to keep their children reading and learning throughout the summer.
Children who experience the 'summer slide' lose the footing gained in the previous school year and are at a disadvantage when classes resume at the end of summer.
Turn the Page KC, a reading initiative by Kansas City Mayor Sly James, is a community initiative to help third-graders achieve their third-grade reading level. The effort includes addressing summer learning loss.
LINC is a Turn the Page KC community partner along with school districts, libraries and other community-based organizations like Freedom Schools and the Upper Room.
In May, LINC partnered with the mayor, the Kansas City Public Library and the American Federation of Teachers Local 691 to distribute 10,000 books to every elementary student in the Kansas City Public Schools. The high-quality, age-appropriate books came from First Book, a non-profit located in Washington, D.C.
LINC summer programs include a strong focus on reading.
The summer reading focus received significant community attention with stories in the Kansas City Star and other media.
Related Information
A summer of reading for low-income Kids, May 25, 2013, Kansas City Star
Parents and schools battle kids' summer brain drain, June 16, 2013, Kansas City Star.
Educating kids, teachers alike, July 8, 2013, Kansas City Star.