School District, Library Collaborate To Fight 'Summer Slide'

It's called the "summer slide," the carryover from summer that sets some students back when they return to school in the fall. A collaborative effort between the and the township’s has been working since the beginning of the summer to fight this off in a variety of ways.

Emily Vickers and Shari Pawlus both said that as teachers, they are thankful for the program. As counselors for day camps scheduled by West Bloomfield Community Education, Vickers, a pre-kindergarten teacher at , and Pawlus, a third-grade teacher at , guided children in grades K-8 through both educational assignments in all subjects as well as recess activities Thursday at . While acknowledging that the five-week program going from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every weekday can be challenging for children exhausted of education, they said that they were thankful for parents who recognized the possibility of a summer slide.

“I don’t know how much reading, writing, and math these kids would be getting over the summer, and so, from my perspective as a teacher, I’m really thankful that their parents saw a need for education to continue,” said Pawlus. “The structure of the day is really important and it’s important that they can continue the habit of learning in the morning through to the afternoon.”

“As teachers, we can take the summers off, but we come here and that says a lot about the program,” added Vickers. “You get to know the kids in a different capacity, in a bit more, laid-back way, without curriculum goals, and that’s great.”

The children appreciated the programming for different reasons. Jordan Allen, a June graduate of , said she liked the chance to familiarize herself with her new surroundings at OLMS. She added that as the grade level of the camps’ 24 students varied, that she looked forward to the chance to have friends in different grade levels that she might not otherwise have.

“When you’re in school it’s all about your class and your grade level, and you don’t really get a chance to meet any older or younger kids,” said Allen, of Farmington. “I’ve made a lot of new friends and they’re all really nice.”

Allen said she especially looks forwards to Thursdays at camp, for the opportunity to see “Miss” Judith Dubin, a youth services librarian at the Main Library who is one of the librarians to visit the camps as part of the library’s program.

Campers sign up for the Library’s Summer Reading program and participate in book talks and enrichment activities presented by librarians. The library installed a collection of high-interest, high-quality books for campers and kids can read the books at camp or check them out and read them at home. The collection also includes popular DVDs that can be used when outdoor camp activities have to be cancelled because of weather.

Campers also can record video reviews of books they’ve read. The videos are then posted to the library’s website.

"The library summer reading program is a fantastic program to be included with our camps. The staff is exceptional and keep the campers engaged and interested.  All of our campers are excited to be able to check out books and read daily,” Vickers said.

, you would think that the pleasure is all hers. Dubin said that in doing outreach programs during the school year, including doing Powerpoint presentations about the library for elementary students, she has built a rapport with the students who recognize her in the hallways at camps and ask for her when their parents take them to the library.

“Once, I was taking a group of girls at camp to the bathroom and one boy saw me in the hallway. He was so excited to see me and talk to me that he almost followed me into the girls bathroom,” Dubin laughed. “It’s wonderful because it gives the kids an extra reason to get excited about coming to the library.”

As part of the program, Dubin helps track the campers’ progress in getting through the collection of reading material. If a camper reads for 12 hours, he or she is given a token to redeem at the Summer’s End Book Fair at the library Aug. 17 for one free book. Campers may not buy books at the fair, however, if they can get through another 12 hours of reading, they are given a second token.

“We practiced and we read a lot in this camp and hopefully I’ll get a book from the fair and that will be fun,” Allen said.