Summer Learning Program Assists YMCA in Becoming Finalist for Award of Excellence
ThinkStretch, a summer learning program for pre-k to sixth grade students, was featured as part of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati’s award-winning YMCA Better Together Summer Program, was named a 2012 Excellence in Summer Learning Awards finalist.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Mar. 26, 2013 – ANN ARBOR, Mich. — ANN ARBOR, Mich. – March 26, 2013 – ThinkStretch Summer Learning Program provided an essential element to YMCA of Greater Cincinnati’s YMCA Better Together Summer Program, which has been named as a finalist for the 2012 Excellence in Summer Learning Awards by the National Summer Learning Association. The YMCA Cincinnati’s summer program served over 2,500 youth in 2012.
YMCA branches received grade‐level aligned ThinkStretch summer learning workbooks to ensure that the children not only maintained skills gained during the previous school year, but also had the opportunity to increase skills in key areas such as math, reading, writing, and science. ThinkStretch has been an important component of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati’s summer programming since 2009.
The YMCA Better Together Summer Program combined the ThinkStretch summer learning workbooks with field trips, meals, music, and art to strengthen students’ academic futures and work to close the achievement gap. The program was so successful, 94 percent of participating students said they planned to attend college. Independent evaluators indicated that students participating in the program achieved:
• 57 percent average increase in reading test scores
• 51 percent average increase in math scores
“ThinkStretch is proud to have been chosen by the YMCA to support their students and families,” said Donna Lasinski, Founder and President of ThinkStretch. “Stopping summer learning loss is a key piece in the puzzle to reduce the achievement gap.”
The Excellence in Summer Learning Award, given annually by the National Summer Learning Association, recognizes outstanding summer programs that demonstrate excellence in accelerating academic achievement and promoting healthy development for young people between kindergarten and twelfth grade.
The ThinkStretch program has been proven to maintain year end academic outcomes for math and reading in students, helps prevent summer learning loss, and keeps students engaged in learning all summer long.
Originally posted on PRLog.org
