Almost 90 children successfully engaged in last summer’s enrichment program, which was funded through a grant from the Greater Alliance Foundation and by United Way of Greater Stark County. Summer Explorers provides enrichment experiences to maintain and grow skills during summer months.
Research indicates that most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills and students from families with limited resources lose more than two months reading achievement. For eight-weeks last summer, Alliance School District children in grades two to five engaged in hands-on fun activities that support learning by building skills in a broad way. Reading was one of the program priorities. Weekly field trips also added depth and breadth to the Explorers’ learning experiences.
100% of the regular participants demonstrated increased reading fluency skills on their post-test. While math computation post-tests also revealed that every children demonstrated growth.