The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is very excited to join the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) as it relaunches its live learning and engagement opportunities on Tuesday, September 3 at 3 p.m. ET. As children across the country head back to school, we hope you will join us to learn how important summer learning is to ensure that our youngest students — and especially those from economically challenged families — return to school ready for success. 

Since its inception, NSLA has partnered with CGLR to emphasize summer learning as a primary strategy for advancing early school success. We have shared extensive research demonstrating that the “summer slide” begins as kids enter kindergarten and grows steeper year after year with the risk of summer learning loss being far more severe for students from economically challenged families who have limited access to quality summer learning programs. Since the pandemic, significant federal funding has been invested in summer learning, bolstered by national and local philanthropy, leading to successful new programs that are reaching many more children. 

Summer Boost is one example of these programs. Bloomberg Philanthropies has been excited to sponsor the launch and expansion of this program, which was operating in seven U.S. cities this summer. A recently released evaluation of the program documented significant gains in math and English Language Arts and academic recovery across demographics and education levels. Similarly, many other programs have emerged under the leadership of school systems, community-based organizations and public libraries with a commitment to engaging preK–2 students during the summer to ensure they enter elementary school ready for success.