United Way Saskatoon literacy program helping prevent ‘summer slide’

Once the school year is done, some students can suffer a degree of learning loss over the summer.

The term used to describe that academic regression is known as the “summer slide.”

A United Way Saskatoon literacy program is helping to prevent that, by making sure reading levels don’t suffer at the elementary school stage.

“Lots of times we’re really up on our guided reading during the school year and when kids go home for the summer that kind of falls off,” said Taylor Balon, Summer Success program coordinator with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools.

Now in its fourth year, the two-week Summer Success program also aims to tackle the issue of education inequality.

Throughout the school year, teachers identify students who would benefit from extra help during the summer.

“Helps to protect and prevent kids — vulnerable kids — in this city from sliding back and losing ground,” said United Way CEO Shaun Dyer.

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The success of the program hinges on volunteers — like 16-year-old Zach Digout.

Typically, volunteers are matched with a student and they take turns reading to one another.

“It’s an hour out of my day, but it makes a difference in their lives,” Digout said.

He described how rewarding it is to be a part of the program.

“It was crazy to see how just in one day I got to see them improve from the start of the reading to the end of the reading,” Digout said.

Balon noted that targeted teaching has noticeable benefits.

“At the bare minimum maintaining their reading level,” she said. “We have kids who improve reading levels … just by that really specific reading intervention.”

The program’s success rate over the last couple of years is 85 to 90 per cent according to Dyer.

Perhaps just as important, kids leaving with the confidence they need to tackle the next school year.

“Really we’re talking about success through high school graduation,” Dyer said.