As Millions of Students End the School Year, Boys & Girls Clubs of America Offers a Place to Fight "Summer Brain Drain"

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Jun 14, 2012, 12:01 ET

Parents Use BGCA Tips to Make Out-Of-School-Time More Productive for Kids

ATLANTA, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This month, millions of kids begin their summer breaks, looking forward to vacations, pool time and carefree days. But research and experience show a lack of mental stimulation results in children unlearning much of what they were taught during the school year. Boys & Girls Clubs across the country offer young people a safe, fun learning place to spend their summer months, with staff and resources to fight the effects of this "Summer Brain Drain."

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The reality for today's kids, especially in this tough economic climate, is many will be left on their own with few structured activities. And with parents and guardians working more than one job to make ends meet, they simply have too much unsupervised television, video game and computer time.

President Touts Concerns Over Summer Learning
Also known as "summer learning loss" or the "summer slide," this issue is a growing problem for American children. President Barack Obama has noted, "Students are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year during the summer."

"Summer Brain Drain is a seasonal issue that causes millions of young people to lose months of accumulated knowledge," says Dr. Erica Stevens, senior director, education programs, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.greatfutures.org). "While the months without daily lessons are part of the problem, another contributing factor is that many young people are left alone for much of the summer, with little or no supervision to intellectually challenge them and constructively exercise their energies. It's critical to find creative ways to combat learning loss."

By the Numbers: Affect on Low-Income Households
The negative impact of Summer Brain Drain is especially harsh among young people from low-income households as it only exacerbates the myriad challenges and frustrations they experience.

Faced with difficult home situations, many young people accept lower standards of academic achievement, reducing their aspirations for higher education. But summer learning loss can strike kids from any demographic:

When students report to school in the fall, they perform on average one month behind where they left off in the spring; the effect is more pronounced for the most at-risk students, who may lose several months.(1)
More than 15 million U.S. children are alone and unsupervised after school throughout the year, and those numbers jump over the summer.(2)
Summer learning loss is cumulative, with the effects growing worse each year the child is in school.(1)
Low-income students are affected disproportionately; summer learning loss contributes substantially to their widening achievement gap.(1)

Benefits of Quality Summer Learning Programs

Summer learning programs have been shown to raise math and reading performance, increase attendance, reduce dropout rates, decrease involvement in crime, improve behavior at school and heighten interest in learning.
Studies show the positive effects of summer learning programs last two years.
Summer learning programs increase parental involvement, which is critical to a child's overall academic success.

"Parents and guardians can stop or slow this learning loss with a positive summer learning program," said Dr. Stevens. "Many school districts have been forced to cut summer learning programs because of tight budgets, but there is much that parents can do and partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs can provide excellent resources."

Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Summer Programs

Parents and students can take advantage of summer programs at Boys & Girls Clubs and other community organizations. They offer a number of engaging activities to:

Build one-on-one tutoring relationships.
Create collaborative projects where young people work together to complete a project.
Engage in high-yield learning activities, including games that use cognitive skills, writing activities, creating short plays, skits or musical pieces, or reading.
Create projects that involve parents.

Summer Tips for Parents

READ! Encourage your child to read newspapers, magazines, books, comics, the Internet.
Get a copy of the summer reading list for your child's grade level from school.
Read news articles aloud together and then discuss what you have read. Encourage your child to speak out on local issues that are important to him. For example, have them write a letter to the editor of the newspaper or to a government official.
Have your child teach you something that she knows how to do, like set up a page on a social networking site or send a text message on your phone.
Keep a regular routine. Though summer should be more relaxed, young people still need some structure to guide their days and keep them sleeping well and eating right.
Do good deeds. Encourage your child to serve others in your community by doing yard work for an elderly neighbor, visiting a nursing home or hospital, donating toys or working at a food bank or animal shelter.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures .org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, nearly 4,000 Clubs serve some 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native American lands throughout the country. Children and families of the U.S. Armed Services receive Club programs and support through BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers located on U.S. military installations worldwide. Clubs provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.

(1) Afterschool Alliance
(2) Rand Education Report, 2011

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America