Stopping Summer Slide

How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss Using Title I Funding

When teachers and students return to school after a long summer break, rarely do educators have the chance to immediately introduce new material. Instead, according to the Brookings Institute, on average a total of one month of reteaching time is required to ensure that students are up to speed, due to summer learning loss, also called “summer slide.”

For disadvantaged students who may not have access to educational resources over the summer, the effects of summer slide are even greater. This white paper explores solutions to prevent summer slide and provides educators with suggestions for using Title I funding resources to bring proven methods of summer enrichment to their district.

Highlights of this paper include:

• An analysis of leading summer learning loss research, including the paradigm-shifting “Faucet Theory.”
• An explanation of the recent changes to the Every Student Succeeds Act, and how to tell if an educational program will qualify for Title I resources.
• Research from Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman detailing the importance of early educational investment in a child’s life.