Middle Level Leader - Summer Reading Programs

April 2009

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Summer's coming. And with it comes the likelihood that some of the hard-earned academic progress made over the school year will regress—especially among lower-income students. One key to preventing this summer slide is getting students to read over the summer. However, providing students with high-interest books that match their reading abilities and promote growth can be a challenge. Fortunately, there is a free resource available to schools that can make this happen. This month's lead article is written by the president of MetaMetrics, Inc., the company that developed the Lexile Framework for Reading. Many states now report student Lexile scores along with state assessment scores and all major standardized reading tests and many popular instructional reading programs can do this as well. Keep reading to discover how many districts and communities are promoting summer reading programs and how your students can use the Find a Book feature to create a reading list tailor-made to their interests and ability (and if your school does not have Lexile scores available, the feature still works by estimating a student's reading ability).

Patti Kinney

Principal, National Center for Middle Level Leadership

Connecting Students With the Right Summer Books to Raise Achievement 

Research shows that all students experience some level of learning "loss" or "slide" when they do not engage in educational activities over the summer. In fact, low-income students, who often do not have access to adequate reading resources at home, experience an average summer loss in reading achievement of more than two months. However, with the right summer reading program—targeted to students' abilities and interests—students have the capability to improve their skills to the same level they would have reached if they had attended summer school.

From the Field
Nationwide, middle schools have found creative ways to engage students through summer reading programs that take their interests and hobbies into account and, in effect, produce tangible achievement. Learn from their successes and failures.

News and Notes

Improving Instruction: Building a Culture for Differentiation
Don't miss out—consider coming and bringing a team! On June 29–30, NASSP will be presenting "Improving Instruction: Building a Culture for Differentiation" with internationally known author and consultant Rick Wormeli, in Reston, VA. Rick is the author of Fair Isn't Always Equal and Differentiation: From Planning to Practice Grades 6–12. This highly interactive two-day workshop is designed to help school leaders:

• Understand what differentiated instruction and assessment is and what it isn't
• Identify differentiated instructional and assessment practices in the classroom setting
• Understand the connection between assessment and practice in the differentiated classroom
• Examine how school and classroom grading policies impact differentiation practices
• Support teacher efforts to learn and implement differentiation strategies
• Model differentiation practices in the school's professional development efforts.

For more information or to register for this workshop, go to www.nassp.org/wormeli.

Schools to Watch Conference
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be sponsoring its annual Schools to Watch Conference on June 25–27, 2009, at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Washington, DC. For more information, go to www.schoolstowatch.org.

Financial Responsibility Curriculum Available
America's Promise Alliance has released $aving Our Futures: A Financial Responsibility Program for Young People, an online curriculum that teaches middle level and high school students about financial responsibility, and how to advocate for smarter money management in their homes, communities, and from elected officials. The curriculum is aligned with I.O.U.S.A, a documentary about the country's addiction to debt (a free 30-minute version of the movie can be accessed via www.iousathemovie.com). The free curriculum also includes an extensive resources section and provides opportunities for quality service learning projects. Go to www.americaspromise.org/financialresponsibility to download the curriculum.

Save the Date
The middle level strand at this year's convention was a big hit! Put next year's convention on your calendar now and plan to join us in Phoenix, AZ, for another great professional development opportunity, March 12–14.

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Middle Level Leader Staff