ThinkStretch is proud to work with several districts as its preferred parent resource for summer skill maintenance. If, for some reason, a school district cannot purchase the program for the entire school or through a group kit sale, it can still bring ThinkStretch to students as a recommended summer learning resource. Districts have the option to offer parents the ThinkStretch program directly from their websites and through district newsletters and communications. Parents purchase the ThinkStretch program online, and ThinkStretch sends a summer learning kit directly to their home. Each kit contains a Parent Guide to Summer, student activity book, and gold appreciation medal.
Parents have high anxiety around providing meaningful summer activities. Education researchers have measured parents levels of anxiety around their children throughout the school year and have found that anxiety is at its highest around summer time. Parents feel the full responsibility for providing meaningful activities for their students outside of school and have very little guidance. Schools, parents and students benefit when a school offers a recommend summer homework resource.
The Saline Area Schools, in Saline, Michigan, have recommended ThinkStretch as the preferred summer learning resource for students and families for the past two years. Due to financial constraints and a lack of federal Title I funding, Saline is unable to offer ThinkStretch as a comprehensive program to its students. However, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Steve Laatsch is committed to encouraging and assisting families to maintain school year skills over the summer months.
ThinkStretch worked with Asst. Supt. Laatsch to develop communications, partnerships with Saline school PTOs, and strong support among parents. Asst. Supt. Laatsch sends a letter to every elementary school parent in the spring asking them to support their student by using the ThinkStretch summer learning program in their home over the summer. Parents then purchase the grade levels needed for their children directly from the ThinkStretch website. Last summer hundreds of Saline parents took advantage of the opportunity to have summer learning delivered directly to their doorstep.
Making ThinkStretch Summer Learning a preferred summer resource is as easy as copy and paste!
Simply copy and paste the code found here onto your school and/or PTO’s website, so that parents can easily access the ThinkStretch order form. To make it easy for your school to implement ThinkStretch, we’ve included a letter to send to families of students, telling them about the program. Simply add a link directing parents to the ThinkStretch portion of your website, where they can find additional details and place their order.
Parents and schools benefit when every child returns to school in the fall confident and prepared to learn!
