# data[].attributes.body
In this 2011 NYT piece, Jeff Smink points to research from Johns Hopkins University and the Rand Corporation to explain what we know about "summer loss" and suggest a solution: Summer educational opportunities for all.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
THE American ideal of lazy summers filled with fun has an unintended consequence: If students are not engaged in learning over the summer, they lose skills in math and reading. Summers off are one of the most important, yet least acknowledged, causes of underachievement in our schools.

Decades of research confirm that summer learning loss is real. According to a report released last month by the RAND Corporation, the average summer learning loss in math and reading for American students amounts to one month per year. More troubling is that it disproportionately affects low-income students: they lose two months of reading skills, while their higher-income peers - whose parents can send them to enriching camps, take them on educational vacations and surround them with books during the summer - make slight gains. A study from Johns Hopkins University of students in Baltimore found that about two-thirds of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income ninth graders could be explained by summer learning loss during the elementary school years.

This learning loss is cumulative, summer after summer. It has a tremendous impact on students' success, including high school completion, post-secondary education and work force preparedness.

As a result, no matter how effective other school reforms are, our traditional 180-day school calendar creates an incredibly inefficient system of learning. We cannot afford to spend nearly 10 months of every year devoting enormous amounts of intellect, energy and money to promoting student learning and achievement, and then walk away from that investment every summer.

This waste is preventable. According to the RAND report, good summer programs with individualized instruction, parental involvement and small classes can keep children from falling behind and reduce the achievement gap.

Yet many districts, including New York City, have not fully embraced the summer's potential. In New York, around 34,000 third through eighth graders are required to take summer school classes this year in order to be promoted to the next grade. The classes typically last only half the day, leaving many on their own for the afternoon. And since such classes are primarily remedial, they often carry a stigma that can affect struggling students and their parents.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
THE American ideal of lazy summers filled with fun has an unintended consequence: If students are not engaged in learning over the summer, they lose skills in math and reading. Summers off are one of the most important, yet least acknowledged, causes of underachievement in our schools.

# data[].attributes.headline
Kyle's (2011) Summer Read Recommendations for Educators

# data[].attributes.subject
Kyle's (2011) Summer Read Recommendations for Educators

# data[].attributes.body
I wrote this in 2011 on the Excellence & Ethics Blog, and I still highly recommend all fo these books!

# data[].attributes.headline
5 Ways To Promote Learning Outside the School Walls

# data[].attributes.subject
5 Ways To Promote Learning Outside the School Walls

# data[].attributes.body
1. Model-Coach-Fade (If you want students to develop as life-long learners, show them that you are, become a learning guide, and don't disappear.)

2. Bring Passion Into Play (Invite students to discover their own passions and contemplate their purpose; then encourage them to pursue related learning opportunities.)

3. Become an Opportunity Hawk (Always be on the lookout for learning opportunities connected to your content area, current areas of study, student interests, and other cross-cultural/cross-disciplinary experiences...And when you find them, share them with your students and colleagues!!)

4. Play Connect the Dots (Just because you teach content and competencies in-school doesn't mean it needs to be done in-isolation. Look for ways to connect what you're teaching inside the classroom to what's going on in the real-world. Invite students to look for these connections as well.)

5. Create Opportunities for Collective Learning Shares (A Collective Learning Share, or CLS, is an opportunity for people to come together and share what they have learned. The possible ways of conducting a CLS are almost as infinite as things that people can learn about, but the most important thing is getting people together (in person or online) and giving each person an opportunity to share.

# data[].attributes.body
"One way of opening ourselves up to new opportunities is to make conscious efforts to look differently at our ordinary situations. Doing so allows a person to see the world as one rife with possibility and to take advantage of some of those possibilities if they seem worth pursuing."

-Sir Ken Robinson in his book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

# data[].attributes.body
Padlet is a great (and EASY!) way to create an online Collaborative Learning Share opportunity! You can run the page yourself or set it up so that others can contribute (you can moderate content before it shows up on your page)

# data[].attributes.headline
Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Education Paradigms

# data[].attributes.subject
Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Education Paradigms

# data[].attributes.body
I love this now-classic TED talk by Sir Ken Robbins, which challenges us to think about our educational models. His book "The Element," contains one of my favorite quotes about learning--------------------->

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms