Mary Lu Love of UMass- Boston listens during a conference at the Gregg Neighborhood House in Lynn on summer literacy instruction Monday. (Item Photo / Reba M. Saldanha)

 

LYNN - The bad news is that more than half of local third-graders fell below the proficient level on the English Language Arts 2010 MCAS examination.

The good news, according to a panel of educators and state officials who met at Gregg Neighborhood House on Monday, is that Lynn students boosted their reading skills through participation in summer programs.

"Real progress has been made and lasting improvements can be made through summer reading programs," United Way of Massachusetts Bay President Michael Durkin told forum participants.

Gregg House, Girls Inc. and the Greater Lynn YMCA participated in an experimental program launched last summer in Lynn and six other communities with the goal of keeping students reading during the summer.

United Way Senior Vice President Peg Sprague said that out of 1,822 children from Lynn - as well as Lawrence, Lowell, Boston, Worcester, Holyoke and Springfield who participated in the summer reading initiative last year - 85 percent avoided the learning loss from one school year to the next that occurs when students do not read during the summer.

With help from the United Way and state grant money, employees in 21 programs in these cities, including the three in Lynn, found ways last summer to make reading fun for children who might have spent time away from school, in state Education Secretary Paul Reville's words, with "a bag of potato chips and a television set."

The state and United Way plan to help Gregg House and other organizations provide kids with summer reading opportunities this summer.

Susan O'Connor, a reading coach who worked with Girls Inc. employees and children last summer, said children riding buses to and from field trips played rhyming games designed to improve language recognition skills.

O'Connor said she initially encountered challenges encouraging kids to think of summer not just as fun time but also as learning time.

"But if you don't give up on kids, they won't give up on you," she said.

Gregg Director Cynthia Christ said the Broad Street program was well suited to take on the summer reading program. When Gregg House moved from West Lynn five years ago, program organizers made reading a priority of their new location.

"There are books and writing in every room," Christ said.

Sprague said the stakes are high for educators to keep students reading during the summer. She said children "who don't have enrichment opportunities suffer a summer slide" that eventually sees them lagging two years behind other children.

Family income is closely related to summer education opportunities, including reading programs, said Sprague.

"Lower-income children continue to lose ground while better off children gain ground," Sprague said.

She said 72 percent of the students who took part in the reading initiative maintained current reading skill levels or improved their reading ability.

State Sen. Thomas McGee said at least one million Massachusetts children need help enrolling in summer programs that encourage them to enjoy reading. Meeting that need means creating more programs, said McGee.

"This needs to be part of what kids get for an education," he said.

O'Connor said summer reading programs give public school teachers who participate in them an opportunity to help kids and do something rewarding.

"It's relaxed, the kids can call you by your first name and allow them to give you a hug."

Quick Facts:

-- 56 percent of Lynn third-graders scored below proficient on the 2010 MCAS English Language Arts examination

-- Out of 1,822 children, including 618 from Lynn, who participated in a 2010 summer reading initiative, 85 percent avoided summer time reading skill losses.

-- 72 percent of these students maintained or improved reading skills through summer programs.

-- 1 million Massachusetts children need access to summer program that can help boost reading skills.*

Sources: United Way of Massachusetts Bay. *State Sen. Thomas M. McGee

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