It’s known as the “summer slide” by experts and is far from being as exciting as it sounds. The summer slide is the result of young minds resting in idle during the three-month break from school, sometimes losing more than two months of learning.
To prevent the summer slide, Broken Arrow Public Schools is launching an exciting summer program called “Maintain the Brain,” which will provide students with ongoing learning opportunities through online learning platforms with a number of incentives and prizes from June 1 to July 31. Students do not need to sign-up to participate in this summer program.
“Research shows that high-quality summer programs make a difference in learning loss and closing educational gaps,” said Kristin Henness, the district’s executive director of teaching and learning. “At minimum, two to three hours per week during the summer is needed to prevent any learning loss. We are hopeful that ‘Maintain the Brain’ will bring awareness to the importance of summertime learning. Plus, we have a number of awesome prizes we will be giving away to our students who participate and log onto the platforms.”
The district was recently able to purchase digital curriculum, including Waterford, Imagine Learning and IXL, for summer break with instructional funds and funds from the Reading Sufficiency Act and the Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, as well as in collaboration with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Additional information for students and parents/guardians can be found below. Should you have questions, please contact 918-259-7784 or email maintainthebrain@baschools.org. Look for “Maintain the Brain” tidbits on the district’s social media pages using the hashtag #MaintainTheBrainBA.
Additional Info for Students & Parents/Guardians:
“Maintain the Brain” will take place from June 1 to July 31. Students do not need to sign-up to participate in this summer program.
Current students in grades Pre-K through 1 will utilize Waterford Early Learning.
Current students in grades 2-5 will utilize Imagine Learning.
Current students in grades 6-8 will utilize IXL.
Current students in grades 9-12 will utilize their social media channels with challenges and photos to promote #MaintaintheBrainBA.
- Students in grades Pre-K through 5 must log 20-30 minutes every day for five days or 2-3 hours a week to be entered to win weekly prizes.
- Students in grades 6-8 who earn a proficient (smart score of 80) on two skills per week will be placed in a weekly drawing.
All programs can be accessed through the student’s Clever account.
Prizes have been generously donated by community partners and will be announced weekly via email or through the district’s Facebook page. Only students who are currently in grades Pre-K through 8 will be eligible to win.
All parents/guardians and students, especially those in grades 9-12, are encouraged to post on social media with #MaintaintheBrainBA to create awareness and to challenge their friends or younger siblings to continue learning this summer.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Only 48% of parents have heard about the summer slide.
- Often students regress academically causing teachers to spend up to 4 weeks re-teaching content learned from previous years.
- 91% of teachers say students forget or lose skills learned during the prior school year.
- On average, students in grades 3-5 lose 20% of their reading gains and 27% of their math gains during summer break.
- By the end of 6th grade, students who have experienced summer learning loss over the years are on average two years behind their peers.
So, let’s stop the summer slide! Will YOU help us Maintain the Brain, BA?
