July 16 , 2006
While many lucky out-of-school youth will look forward this summer to exciting camps or trips to Disney, many more will find themselves with few structured activities, parents who are working all day – and too much time to get into trouble with gangs, drugs, or other violence. Boys & Girls Clubs in Oxnard and Port Hueneme are offering young people a safe, positive place to spend the summer months while also fighting the effects of “Summer Brain Drain.”
By the Numbers1
During the school year, the hours young people spend after school offer the most danger – and
the most opportunity – of any part of their day. More than 14 million kids are alone and
unsupervised after school. Over the summer, the numbers get even worse:
- More than 1/3 of students will spend at least three days home alone each week this summer.
- Parents are especially concerned about summer and see these months as the hardest time
- to make sure their child has things to do.
- Many parents are concerned that their child will fall behind on academics during the summer.
A majority of students would be interested in a summer program to help them keep up with
their schoolwork (Wallace Foundation).
Out-of-School Programs Fight “Summer Brain Drain”
According to the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University, “Summer Brain Drain”
is a seasonal malady that causes millions of young people to lose months of accumulated
knowledge. Here in Oxnard and Port Hueneme, educators see summer vacation as a learning challenge. Some young people take advantage of the time to get ahead and prepare for demanding college prep classes.
However, many parents argue that summer is a time to allow kids to relax by the pool and build
sandcastles on the beach, not practice their algebra and periodic tables. Unfortunately, the cost
of a summer of total relaxation is that many young people return to school in the fall only to find
they have forgotten months of learning from the previous school year. This is “Summer Brain
Drain,” also known as summer learning loss or the summer slide. “While the months without daily lessons are part of the problem, another cause of Summer Brain Drain is that many young people are left alone for much of the summer, with little or no direction to channel their time and energies,” says Tim Blaylock, Chief Professional Officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme Summer Brain Drain hits particularly hard among young people from low-income households or those in which both parents work. For them, it only exacerbates their challenges. Faced with difficult home and economic situations, many young people are likely to accept lower standards of academic achievement, lessening their aspirations for higher education.
Benefits of Quality Summer Programs
- Out-of-school programs have been shown to raise math and reading performance, improve
- attendance, reduce dropout rates, decrease involvement in crime, improve behavior at school
- and heighten interest in learning.
- Students tend to show increased enjoyment of reading and writing.
1 Statistics provided by the Afterschool Alliance.
- After-school and out-of-school programs have solid benefits for parents too, promoting
- Increased parental involvement, which is critical to a child’s overall academic success.
Tips for Parents
During the summer, parents and students can take advantage of programs at Boys & Girls Clubs
and other community organizations. They offer a number of engaging activities to:
1. Build one-on-one tutoring relationships.
2. Create collaborative projects where young people work together to complete a project.
3. Engage in high-yield learning activities, including games that use cognitive skills, writing
activities, creating short plays, skits or musical pieces, or reading.
4. Create projects that encourage parental involvement.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme is the fastest growing Youth Development Organization in Ventura County serving over 7000 young people annually ages 6-18 years of age. For more information go to www.positiveplace4kids.org or call 805-815-4959 |
