Our third goal is to increase quality out-of-school-time learning opportunities, with a focus on low-income students. Many children from low-income families do not have access to quality summer, school break, and after-school learning opportunities. Without enriching activities, research shows that these children lose as much as three months of comprehension skills over the summer. By fifth grade, these children are nearly three grade levels behind their peers. Summer learning loss is also cumulative, making it nearly impossible to “catch up” year after year.
Strategies to meet this goal center on:
- Establishing a baseline of number of students enrolled in out-of-school-time programs.
- Working with current programs to expand services that are accessible to low-income students
- Working with community partners to communicate information about out-of-school-time learning opportunities
- Partnering with both school districts, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Lee County Library to establish and/or expand out-of-school-time reading clubs and camp opportunities
- Partnering with the Hunger Coalition of Northeast Mississippi to distribute books to children in the summer through grant opportunities.
Watch this video about the importance of out-of-school-time learning opportunities for students:
Early Childhood Coalition 