Pushing Back Against The Slide!
The Suncoast Summer Book Challenge
data is in - and it’s likened to the
beginning of a “happily ever after” story!
Research shows that children raised in
low-income households can lose two
months or more of reading skills during
the summer, and children who do that
consistently can wind up two years
behind their classmates by the end of
sixth grade. This decline in reading skills
is called the “Summer Slide.”
Kudos to the hard work of the children
and countless volunteers, businesses,
nonprofits, government entities, and
the media, who helped the Suncoast
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
(SCGLR) accelerate progress toward
preventing the Summer Slide.
In 2018, the Suncoast Summer Book
Challenge, funded by The Patterson
Foundation, engaged with 83 summer
providers from Manatee, Sarasota,
Charlotte, and DeSoto counties to
encourage children to read at least
six books during the summer months.
Students who par ticipated in the
book challenge received a brightly
colored silicone bracelet for every book
they completed.
5,369 children participated in the
challenge, with 4,915 completing it
by reading at least six books. In total,
children read 126,787 books!
SCGLR was able to obtain aggregate
per formance data for 69 summer
providers who worked with elementary
school-aged children for at least four
weeks during the summer months. These
children took an i-Ready diagnostic test in
the spring of 2018 (AP3) and an i-Ready
diagnostic test in the fall of 2018 (AP1),
allowing SCGLR to compare their scores
to obtain an indication of summer reading
gain or loss.
HARD WORK PAYS OFF:
The Data
• 43 (62%) of the summer locations
participating in the Suncoast Summer
Book Challenge experienced no loss of
reading skills over the summer.
SCGLR is proud to congratulate the sites below that had zero
learning loss or reading gains during the summer.
County Participating Site Average Summer Learning Gain.
Note: 0 equals staying the same,
which means no learning loss.
MANATEE YMCA Parrish Branch 2 Months Learning Gain
MANATEE YMCA Harllee Summer Camp 1.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Alta Vista 1.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Brentwood 1.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Glenallen 1.5 Month Learning Gain
CHARLOTTE EduCare Learning Center 1 Month Learning Gain
MANATEE Tallevast Community Center Inc. 1 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County – Newtown Estates 1 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA Girls Inc. 1 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Emma E. Booker 1 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Lamarque 1 Month Learning Gain
CHARLOTTE Meadowpark Elementary School Charlotte County Public Schools 0.5 Month Learning Gain
MANATEE Anna Gayle Center 0.5 Month Learning Gain
MANATEE Manatee County Parks & Rec at John H. Marble Recreation Center 0.5 Month Learning Gain
MANATEE YMCA Lakewood Ranch Branch 0.5 Month Learning Gain
MANATEE Rubonia Community Center/D.L. Randall Foundation 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA Sarasota County Parks & Recreation – Longwood 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County – Lee Wetherington 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County – Roy McBean 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA Sarasota County Parks & Recreation – Colonial Oaks 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA Robert L. Taylor Community Complex 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA YMCA – Evelyn Sadlier Jones 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Atwater 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Cranberry 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Gocio 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Tuttle 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA SCS SLA – Wilkinson 0.5 Month Learning Gain
SARASOTA Better Tomorrows/Janies Garden 0.5 Month Learning Gain
CHARLOTTE Boys & Girls Club – Charlotte County 0 Months of Learning Loss
MANATEE Anna Maria Oyster Bar – Ballard & Rogers Garden at South Florida Museum 0 Months of Learning Loss
MANATEE Anna Maria Oyster Bar – Daughtrey at Landside 0 Months of Learning Loss
MANATEE Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County – Oneco 0 Months of Learniwng Loss
MANATEE Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County – Rogers Garden – Bullock Elementary 0 Months of Learning Loss
MANATEE Just For Girls West 0 Months of Learning Loss
MANATEE Manatee County Parks & Rec at G.T. Bray Park 0 Months of Learning Loss
SARASOTA Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County – Gene Matthews 0 Months of Learning Loss
SARASOTA Sarasota County Parks & Recreation – Arlington 0 Months of Learning Loss
SARASOTA Sarasota County Parks & Recreation – Bee Ridge 0 Months of Learning Loss
SARASOTA Sarasota County Parks & Recreation – Woodmere 0 Months of Learning Loss
SARASOTA Sky Family YMCA – Englewood 0 Months of Learning Loss
SARASOTA YMCA – Frank G. Berlin, Sr. Branch 0 Months of Learning Loss
• 28 (41%) of the summer locations
participating in the Suncoast Summer
Book Challenge experienced an increase
in their reading skills over the summer,
with ve locations gaining more than 1.5
months of reading skills.
• 54 (76%) of the summer locations
participating in the Suncoast Summer
Book Challenge gained reading skills,
stayed even, or lost only 0.5 months of
reading skills.
• 66 (96%) of the summer locations
participating in the Suncoast Summer
Book Challenge gained reading skills,
stayed even, or lost 1 month or less of
reading skills.
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