School's Out But The Learning Continues

This week we’re celebrating our Beyond School students! Our kids grew an average of 5.7 months in the two months they were with us this summer. This is a big deal because it means they destroyed summer learning loss.

Summer learning loss or the “summer slide” can cause students to lose two to three months in their academic skills (edutopia). This is especially harmful for low-income students who face even more challenges and fewer opportunities when it comes to education. By the end of just fifth grade, summer learning loss creates a 2-3 year gap between wealthier and lower income students. Many of those low-income students struggle to recover.

Because of this reality, our Beyond School program empowers students year-round. Through enrichment activities, intentional academic time and relationships, our students consistently overcome the summer slide and experience growth each year.

In order to provide a variety of enrichment activities, we partner with organizations all over the city, like The Oxygen ProjectCrossFit St. LouisBuilding Futures and Strings Attached Project. Our goal of preventing summer learning loss becomes a community effort with the help of our partners.

See our Beyond School Program in action:

Thank you to all of the supporters, community partners, families and volunteers who helped empower our students to learn and grow this summer!

Maggie Becker