Summer Learning Is Vital For Preschoolers Too

Across the country, early learning educators and advocates are working to narrow the kindergarten readiness gap between low and higher-income students. This is a vital concern in Memphis where more than half of children are born into poverty.

Early experiences matter and families in poverty lack access to many resources that promote early brain development. Research suggests that children raised in poverty will reach school with vocabularies a third the size of their more affluent peers.

One way that advocates work to close the school readiness gap is by developing top quality pre-kindergarten classrooms for 3 and 4 year olds. But how much of the gains of pre-k are lost if those same children are not in enriching summer programs during that critical summer before students start kindergarten?

While many early learning programs run through the summer, pre-k is tied to the academic year, which means parents need to find other enriching programs from June until September.

A recent report on summer learning programs from the Afterschool Alliance finds that just 19 percent of Tennessee children attend summer learning programs, and the share is likely to be smaller for preschool age children, and particularly for low-income children.

 “These findings are sobering, especially because we know that inequities in summer learning are a major contributor to the achievement gap between high- and low-income students,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “By not creating and funding enough summer learning programs, we are missing the chance to engage and educate millions of students during the summer, and instead are leaving them unsupervised and at risk.” Grant urged lawmakers to fund 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which support afterschool and summer programs.

“The long summer break is a precarious time when many low-income children fall behind academically and lose the nutritious meals, supervision, and structure that school provides,” said Ron Fairchild, chief executive officer of the National Summer Learning Association. “This survey shows just how great the demand is for meaningful summer activities and that too many children are left wanting for quality programs – the very children who could benefit most if given the opportunity. Policymakers and educators who are cutting summer programs should pay attention to these findings.”

The new report and state data are available online at www.afterschoolalliance.org. America After 3PM Special Report on Summer is sponsored by The Wallace Foundation. All data cited in the report are from the 2009 America After 3PM research, which was sponsored by JCPenney Afterschool.