Don’t fail to plan for summer reading interventions

Abstract

Summer reading programs are a common means of providing wraparound services to improve the performance of students’ with or at risk for reading disabilities. Today’s programs are not merely camps but are complex and costly academic efforts that require year-round planning to be successful. School personnel responsible for these programs typically have other full-time roles within the district, so this article offers guidance on the planning steps to take in fall, winter, and spring as well as during the summer. Examples of decisions to make, steps to take each month, and budget components are provided.

Keywords:

• Curriculum planning
• elementary
• reading
• summerbudget
• school

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by Iowa Department of Education.

Notes on contributors

Deborah K. Reed

Deborah K. Reed, Ph.D., is the Director of the Iowa Reading Research Center (IRRC) and an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa. Her research interests include effective practices for reading instruction, intervention, and assessment as well as the use of data-based decision making within reading programs.

Carly Gates

Carly Gates is the Coordinator of Summer Learning for the Council Bluffs Community School District. She formerly served as a middle school Language Arts teacher and an instructional coach. Carly is passionate about the importance of out-of-school time for students and works in partnership with the Iowa Reading Research Center to continually make improvements to programming based on research.