Campaign Keeps Kids Reading All Summer Long

Research shows that summer learning loss is one of the most significant causes of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth, and one of the strongest contributors to high school dropout rates. This was one of the challenges that prompted the CFGD to create the Dubuque Campaign for Grade-Level Reading in 2012. This group of funders, nonprofit partners, schools and parents works together to help ensure that more low-income children succeed in school and are prepared for college, careers and active citizenship.

Five years later, with campaigns now going strong in Dubuque as well as Dyersville and Jackson County, more kids than ever are learning all summer long.

Dubuque

Back in 2012, the Dubuque Campaign for Grade-Level Reading launched its work with the Community Solutions Action Plan—a roadmap for partners to develop effective community programs based on best practices from across the country. Today, hundreds of students in Dubuque are benefiting from quality summer learning opportunities like the Summer Academy (facilitated by the school district), St. Mark’s Heroes Summer Academy, and Cool School at the YMCA/YWCA. All of these programs include high-quality literacy instruction and enrichment activities—and data shows they are boosting kids’ reading proficiency.

In addition to these literacy-focused programs, many other community partners are now incorporating literacy into existing summer offerings. The City of Dubuque Leisure Services department, for example, recently started incorporating literacy-focused activities into its playground program.

“There are so many partners working together to create a rich summer learning environment in Dubuque,” said Julee Albers, director of youth impact at CFGD. “This collaboration makes it possible for many kids to have access to quality programs, but we know there are still kids we are missing. Campaign partners are always looking for ways we can continue to improve and increase our impact.”

Jackson County

For 169 students in Jackson County, summer has turned into quite an adventure! Summer Adventure, a county-wide summer learning program, recently concluded its second year of programming and offers much more than a traditional summer school model. In addition to literacy instruction,  enrichment activities and field trips, the program also eliminates common obstacles faced by low-income kids by providing free meals and transportation.

Summer Adventure was developed by administrators at four school districts and two parochial schools—all partners in the Jackson County Campaign for Grade-Level Reading—who were determined to help improve summer learning opportunities for students struggling to read. With the Community Solutions Action Plan as a guide, they launched the Summer Adventure pilot program in 2016 and data proved its success: 76% of students maintained or improved their reading proficiency.

What the data cannot always show, however, is the potential for such innovative programs to inspire a love of learning. As one parent noted, “I think this is such an amazing program and I’m very fortunate that my daughter has been able to attend. She continues to work on her math and reading and wants to do it even when not in school!”

Thanks to the Community Foundation of Jackson County and generous supporters like Dave and Penny North, Summer Adventure continues to be sustainable and will return in Summer 2018.

Dyersville

This summer, over 60 kindergarten to fifth-grade students from Dyersville area schools participated in the St. Mark Youth Enrichment summer program, which focuses on reading proficiency as well as social-emotional skills. For the second year in a row, the program now includes a special afternoon enrichment session focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). The new session, presented by Iowa State Extension & Outreach and the City of Dyersville Park & Rec Department, was inspired by best practices shared by the Dyersville Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.

Dyersville kids also benefit from Victory Ford’s Reading for a Reason program and the James Kennedy Public Library’s summer reading program, both of which incentivize and reward students who read throughout the summer.

“It’s exciting to see all the programming taking place in summer,” says Jessica Pape, community coordinator for the Dyersville Campaign. “When I think back to three years ago, we have made some incredible advances in what is available to all kids throughout the summer in Dyersville.”

Learn more about the Dubuque Campaign for Grade-Level Reading at www.readdbq.org.

This story was featured in Giving Matters Summer 2017.