This summer, State Representative Mike Coffey is introducing his summer reading club to help students maintain their reading skills and prevent learning loss that often occurs during summer break from school.
Studies have shown when young people aren’t engaged in educational activities during the summer, they experience learning loss, erasing gains made during the school year, but summer reading programs keep kids learning. What you should know:
- Summer reading loss is cumulative. By the end of 6th grade, children who consistently lose reading skills over the summer will be two years behind their classmates.
- Students who participated in a summer reading program had better reading skills at the end of third grade and scored higher on standardized tests than students who did not participate.
- In a study of fourth graders, the students who read for fun every day scored the highest on reading assessment tests.
Students entering kindergarten through 6th grade in the fall who want to accept the challenge of reading 8 books over the summer are invited to join Rep. Coffey’s Summer Reading Club.
Students will be able to select their own books and are responsible for tracking their own reading. Students who read all eight books and submit their forms by the August 1st deadline will receive an official certificate of recognition from the Illinois House of Representatives and an invitation to a mid-August pizza party in their honor.
Once a student reads all 8 books (books over 150 pages can be listed twice and counted as 2 books), a parent or guardian can access the online submission form at RepCoffey.com/read where students can list their books. Once the form is submitted, the student becomes an official member of Rep. Coffey’s Reading Club.
For more information contact Rep. Coffey or call 217-782-0053.