Baltimore’s “super” approach to summer learning

When the schoolhouse doors close on the last day of the school year, students are looking forward to a carefree summer. But they are at danger for summer learning loss and can lose critical knowledge and skills over the warm months. Low-income students are disproportionately affected and can lose months in reading skills, far more than their higher income peers

Investing our resources in summer

Editor’s note: Brenda McLaughlin will be at OSI-Baltimore for the first forum in our Learning about Learning series, Expanding Learning Beyond the School Year, on Tuesday, June 7th. Friday, June 17 is the last day of school for students in Baltimore City.  Here in the suburbs of Philadelphia, my sons share the same last day. […]

Every child should experience summer camp

I love summer time and everything about it, especially summer camp. Summer camp provides children with a fun, safe environment to learn new activities, experience new friends, and reinforce academic skills. Growing up as a child living with sickle cell disease, summer camp was one of the few activities that made me feel normal. I […]

Summer on my mind

Baltimore winters are typically snowed under ice storms and blisteringly cold winds from the west.  I’m not a fan.  Instead, winter has become my motivation to plan summer vacations.  During these times of fiscal austerity however, I’ve postponed the summer tropical get-away.  Even still, I look forward to visiting family and friends spread across the […]