Students who don't read during the summer can be nearly
2.5 to 3 years behind their peers, academically,
by the time they reach middle school*.
This is called the "summer slide" and our goal is to reverse this trend... but we need your help.
WHO? English Language Learners (ELLs) at Five Oaks Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon
WHAT? Read for 20 hours or more over summer break to maintain academic growth.
WHY? To stop the "summer slide" and start the school year stronger than ever before.
HOW? Each student completing a 20 hour reading log receives headphones or a bluetooth speaker as a reward.
WHEN? September 30th, 2017
WHO - We are English Language Development (ELD) teachers at Five Oaks Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon and we are trying to stop the "summer slide". This is the tendency for students, especially those from low-income families, to lose academic gains made the previous year during a summer without reading.
This is even MORE important for our students because their home languages are not English.
Imagine moving to China, your entire school day is in Cantonese, and you are expected to learn the language quickly.
What happens when summer arrives? A majority of your summer will be spent surrounded by English as this is your family's "home"
language. When fall comes, where will your academic Cantonese be?
It is down the "summer slide" and behind where it was in spring.
WHAT? - Our students set a goal of reading for 20 hours or more this summer. The amount of English language they will maintain during this 20 hours can be a crucial piece of academic success come fall.
WHY? - We showed our students their reading scores, and the information about the "summer slide", and they agreed that it was time to step up and stay engaged with reading during the summer.
THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN HELP!!
HOW? - Each student who returns to school with a completed 20-hour reading log, will receive a set of headphones or a bluetooth speaker. You can help show these students that their dedication to maintaining reading and academics over the summer is appreciated by supporting our fundraising effort.
- We are going to need roughly $40 per student engaged in this goal.
- Projecting a 75% completion rate among the students who are dedicated to completing the 20 hours, puts us at $3,000 total.
WHEN? - Students will return their reading logs the first week of school, we will sit with students to reflect on the process, and determine our final tally. Our hope is to have the money raised to order their rewards by September 30th, 2017.
Our goal is for students to come back to school this fall better prepared to read, to grow academically,
and to BRIDGE THE READING GAP.
Ideally, those involved in this goal will show better classroom success and even better test scores which we can use to further motivate them, and other students as well.
Thank you so much for taking the time to consider our goal.
This project is supported by the Beaverton Education Foundation.
Founded in 1988, the Beaverton Education Foundation raises money to provide hands-on innovative academic enrichment and advancement programs & projects that go beyond normal school funding at all Beaverton public schools and is a 501(c)(3) community-based nonprofit organization. BEF mobilizes community resources to fund innovative classroom, summer and after-school programs.
In the event that this project does not reach its goal, BEF may apply the funds received to another project in need.
