We Are Warriors Fighting Summer Slide

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

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We all know “summer slide” can affect school-age children during the summer months – especially children who lack access to books. Schools and public libraries are powerful partners to help engage kids both prior to and throughout the summer.  Summer learning, summer reading, opportunities for discovery, experimentation and exploration are all ways libraries can support youth and families during vacation time.

Here are a few ways to collaborate between school and public library peers and support kids in their summer learning adventures:

• Work with your schools to create a summer lunch site for children at the public library. This an opportunity to present both active and passive programs for families to engage in while at the library. There are several libraries that have already put this in place, i.e. Neenah Public Library, T.B. Scott Free Library (2019 will be their first summer).

• Create summer learning adventures with kids at the public library– and include not just active programs but passive programs that families can engage in any time they come to the library: STEM programs; coding; discovery stations; literacy areas (word games; puzzles; challenges; scavenger hunts).
• School library collaborative ideas focused ideas/conversation starters:

• Can we schedule a library card sign-up day, either before the end of the school year, or during open house evenings at schools in August/September?
• Can we schedule time to promote our public library summer reading programs before the end of the school year?
• What kind of STEM/Makerspace/Coding Clubs do you have? We would like to compliment the learning with continued opportunities throughout the summer at the public library.
• What type of summer school programs are happening at your school? We would like to compliment the learning with continued opportunities throughout the summer at the public library.

If you’re looking for more information on summer learning/reading, here are two organizations with great resources:

• The National Summer Learning Association offers online resources, research, and practical tips related to summer learning and preventing summer slide.
• Summer Matters is a California organization that provides research and tools on preventing slide that are relevant nationwide. Check out their Learning Recruitment Guide and follow the Twitter hashtag #whysummermatters  to keep the discussion going.

This message is brought to you through the collaborations of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Michele Green (WEMTA) .