KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — School’s out for the summer this week, and while the kids may think that’s great, for educators, the teaching process doesn’t just come to a screeching halt, it actually retreats over the summer months.
Kalamazoo Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice says the studies show that In higher poverty areas, the “Summer Slide” can be profound.
Kalamazoo Schools has been combatting the “Slide” with innovative programs for years by putting books in the hands of kids.
For the first time this summer, five elementary libraries in high poverty neighborhoods will be open one day a week, with incentives to draw them in.
The district will expand their summer reading program by adding all third graders to the thousands of students who receive 8 books of their choosing in the mail during the summer. 4th, 5th and 6th graders are already in the program.
They also plan to reimagine the Summer School experience, to focus on core subjects and emphasize how basic skills relate to real world problems and professions.
Also on the agenda this summer, a conference for teachers in August to make them better at their jobs.
Dr. Rice says its all part of his plan to make Kalamazoo the first completely literate community in the U.S.
