New Jersey library uses pizza to fight summer learning loss

For young students, summer vacation is a time for sun, fun and plenty of rest after a lengthy school year. Unfortunately, no matter how hard some kids worked in the classroom, there is always the chance they will lose a significant amount of whatever knowledge and skills they acquired. This is commonly referred to as summer learning loss.

How bad can summer learning loss get?

After a year of writing and reading, it can be easy for students to forget basic grammar rules if they do not put pencil to paper once during their three-month vacation. This is just one reason why these youths tend to perform worse on standardized tests at the end of the summer, as opposed to its beginning, according to the National Summer Learning Association.

However, as schools across the country implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), parents and teachers may have to do more to prevent summer learning loss from occurring. After all, the CCSS will encourage classrooms to become much more rigorous learning environments.

Summer programs can keep students learning

Fortunately, there are ways to prevent summer learning loss and prepare students for the CCSS at the same time. For instance, in New Jersey, the Cliffside Park Free Public Library is currently hosting its Packets and Pizza program, the Cliffside Park Citizen reported.

This weekly program will bring its mix of tutoring and socializing to a close on August 20, just in time for the new school year. According to Dana Martinotti, co-director of curriculum and instruction at the Cliffside Park Public Schools, Packets and Pizza is designed to offset the effects of summer learning loss through packets featuring reading assignments and worksheets.

"Teachers and administrators believe students need more engagement with nonfiction text; therefore students are required to read books in both the fiction and nonfiction genres," Martinotti told the news source. "Such reading experiences are also required in the Common Core State Standards that are in the process of being implemented in our curriculum guides as required by the state of New Jersey."