Combatting Learning Loss in the Summer Months
By Anne HuntingtonAuthor: Anne Huntington, President
The term ‘Summer Slide’ refers to the learning regression that students may experience while on school break during the summer months. This learning loss can cause students to fall a full grade level behind in reading and math, which makes it difficult for them to catch up when school resumes.
This year students are faced with a new challenge to their education: the ‘COVID Slide.’ This term refers to the learning loss from the disruption in education the pandemic has caused, a true education crisis that resulted in remote/distance learning, weeks without school, early school closures, challenges and obstacles with learning from home, postponements and cancellations of state and standardized exams in addition to technological issues and more. The ‘COVID Slide’ not only negatively impacted students’ learning, making them fall behind, but it has also been compounded by social and emotional anxieties that many students face when removed from their daily routines.
To help students avoid the COVID and Summer Slides, we encourage families to get more involved in planning academic and enrichment activities throughout the summer, such as participating in a virtual summer camp, joining Huntington’s free Reading Adventure program themed ‘Anywhere You Want To Go!,’ or joining our Reading Live sessions on our Youtube channel. For more ideas on how you can help students stay engaged in learning, we also offer free weekly webinars on topics like summer activities, tips for writing a great college essay, and helping children connect in a socially disconnected time, in addition to our virtual one-on-one tutoring offerings via HuntingtonHelps LIVE.
At Huntington, students’ success has been our top priority for over 40 years, and we’re dedicated to providing every student with the best education possible. No matter the challenges we face in the days, months and years to come, we are here to help children learn.
