As the school year comes to a close and summer break starts, children everywhere are excited for some time off. But for many students, summer isn’t just a break from school—it’s also a break from learning. And that can lead to something called “the summer slide,” where students lose some of the progress they made during the school year. When it comes to language and literacy skills like reading, the effects can be especially noticeable. The good news? Programs like The Big Lift’s Inspiring Summers can help keep kids’ reading skills sharp and prevent that summer slide, so they’re ready to hit the ground running when school starts up again.
What Is Summer Learning Loss?
Summer learning loss refers to the tendency for students to lose some of the academic skills and knowledge they gained during the school year during the long break. The effect is particularly pronounced in reading and language development. It is estimated that students lose approximately 1-2 months of progress on average during the summer, and reading is especially impacted. For children who are already facing challenges with literacy, these losses can be even more pronounced.
A major reason for summer learning loss is that many students—especially those from families with lower-incomes don’t have the same consistent access to learning opportunities they get during the school year. Without regular reading support, these students are more likely to fall behind in developing the foundational literacy skills critical for long-term academic success.
This summer slide can have lasting effects on a child’s academic trajectory. According to the National Summer Learning Association, children who do not engage in regular learning activities over the summer are more likely to struggle academically in the long run. This gap tends to widen over time, contributing to a cycle where disadvantaged students fall further behind their peers.
Why Summer Programs Are Essential for Language and Literacy Development
The Big Lift invests in Inspiring Summers, a free summer learning program for rising K-3rd grade students. We believe that this program is an essential part of our overall approach to supporting reading proficiency. Here’s why summer programs like ours are essential:
- Reinforcing reading skills
Inspiring Summers is focused on language and literacy development and provides students with the opportunity to reinforce and expand on the reading skills they learned during the school year. Through structured, science of reading-aligned literacy lessons and hands-on learning experiences, it helps children maintain their reading levels and avoid the regression that often occurs during the summer months. - Offering Targeted Support for Struggling Readers
For students who may be struggling with reading, Inspiring Summers offers an opportunity to receive extra support. Inspiring Summers provides a smaller group setting for learning and targeted instruction based on student’s reading needs. This targeted support can help close gaps in a child’s reading proficiency that help them be ready for the next school year. - Maintaining Educational Consistency
Perhaps most importantly, summer programs provide a way to maintain educational consistency. These programs keep children engaged in learning throughout the summer months, strengthen their families’ relationship to their school, and provide tangible, hands-on opportunities to practice reading, alongside other critical learning skills. Plus, Inspiring Summers also includes science experiments, art projects, field trips, mindfulness exercises, and more–emphasizing that school and learning can be fun.
The Role of Parents and Communities
Summer programs are vital for preventing learning loss. It’s also important for parents and communities to stay engaged. Through Inspiring Summers, we focus on building strong parent-school relationships, so that parents feel equipped to reinforce the learning their children receive in summer programs and advocate for their children’s learning year round. It’s one of a number of ways The Big Lift is supporting families as partners – like LetsReadSMC.org, our easy-to-use reading resource site for parents.
Conclusion: A Year-Round Commitment to Learning
Summer learning loss especially in language and literacy development is a significant challenge that can have lasting effects on a child’s academic journey. However, with the right support through summer programs, students can keep growing their reading skills throughout the summer and be set up for success in the coming school year. Programs like Inspiring Summers offer a unique opportunity to reinforce and expand children’s literacy skills, providing a critical bridge helping children strengthen their reading skills through engaging, high-impact learning during the summer months.
It’s also clear that efforts to prevent summer learning loss isn’t just a summer job, it requires a year round commitment.
That’s why we support children from preschool through third grade with consistent, high-quality instruction grounded in the science of reading. With the right resources, encouragement, and support, we can ensure every child keeps learning, growing, and thriving all year long.