As you spend time with loved ones and reflect on all the wonderful moments of the past year, we hope you will take the time to reflect on the amazing work of the summer children's program, Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL).
SAIL has been serving the CNY community for 26 years. During the summer of 2016, SAIL helped 73 students combat the summer slide.
What is the summer slide?
The summer slide refers to the learning loss that students experience over the summer due to having a long break from school. These are some facts surrounding the summer slide:
- Students score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests before summer vacation.
- Students will lose about two months of math over the summer. Reading and writing are also affected.
- Teachers typically spend about a month re-teaching students old material when they return from summer vacation.
- By the end of 5th grade, some students are behind by as much as two-and-a-half years. Summer learning loss adds up. It can follow students through high school, college and beyond.
What is SAIL?
SAIL is a six-week summer academic program for children ages 6-13 who may or may not have learning difficulties. Classes include: reading, study strategies, written language, math, technology, social awareness, music and art. SAIL is held at Minoa Elementary School in East Syracuse.
Special education certified teachers utilize
multi-sensory teaching methods to meet the needs of children in a small class
size with no more than 8 students per teacher.
Teachers target skill development to meet the individual needs of each child. By tapping into a child’s area of strength, learning strategies can be developed to address the area of weakness. “Out-of-the-box” instruction is required, so you may see a child lying on the table or under the table as he/she reads. Learning is engaging and fun!
Technology skills are taught in a specific class as well as used to supplement instruction in reading and study strategies/written language classes.
Why you? Why now?
Children who participate in summer learning programs have better outcomes than similar peers who have not attended a program. 73 children participated in SAIL, 2016 and are on a positive road for continued learning. Help us increase participation to 100 children and help a 100 children beat the summer slide.
SAIL is less than three months away!
April 20, 2017
In less than two months, children will start taking their final tests of the school year. Summer vacation will be here before you know it! As much as children love having three months off from school, this can have negative consequences in a student's education.
When children return to school in the fall, their teachers spend an average of 6-8 weeks re-teaching materials that they have already learned. They also tend to score lower on tests in the fall than they did on the same test in the previous spring.
This phenomenon is called the "summer slide" aka summer regression. Did you know that ALL children experience the summer slide, regardless of having a disability or not?
There is only one way to help prevent summer regression, and that is by keeping children engaged in learning over summer vacation (and winter break as well!).
For the past 27 years, Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL) has been helping children combat the summer slide. Children can take a full or half-day of instruction with classes in: reading, math, music, art, writing & social skills, technology and study skills.
Already, many families have signed their children up for SAIL. However, there are some who are worried about the cost.
Children in poverty are less likely to stay engaged over the summer. These children tend to lose about 2.5 months of math and reading skills over the summer. This learning loss adds up. By 5th grade, students can end up two - three years behind their peers in math and reading skills.
That is why we need your help! Help us raise scholarship money for families in poverty to use to attend SAIL!
You can create a better community. You can create a stronger and brighter future for children. It starts with you. Donate today.
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