“How much arithmetic does a pupil forget in a summer vacation?”
“Is this loss made good, or more than good, by a week or two of review in the fall?”
These questions are relevant today, but they are not quotes from a recent article on summer learning loss. These are the questions asked in 1906 by William F. White, a professor of mathematics at the State Normal School in New York. He authored one of the early studies documenting the loss of math skills among school age children after summer break.
For more than a century, educators have documented, studied and tried to combat summer learning loss. It has become well known that all children are prone to losing math skills during the summer, and modern studies show the loss of reading skills is also an issue, especially among children from low-income families.
The National Summer Learning Association highlights one reason for the reading gap that exists based on household income; (more…)
ese credits encourage employment because individuals must report earned income to be eligible for the credits. They also give workers an incentive to achieve higher wages because the more an individual earns the larger their credit will be, until it begins to phase out at higher income levels.
ach of carols and decorations, so much as it was an effort to reprioritize things. I want to take part in the Season, but on different terms this time.
In a busy and overly connected world, it seems like a radical idea: family bonding, without the television, the computer or the cell phone as the center of our attention. However, when we are able to incorporate this simple form of family time into our routines, it should be a cause of ongoing thanksgiving.
As is often the case with ranking documents, the news is not good for Oklahoma. In this very broad measure of how children fare (including 25 separate measures), Oklahoma children rank 43rd, with an index value of -0.56. New Jersey children are best off, with an index of 0.85, and New Mexico’s are worst off, with an index of -0.96. Perhaps most disturbing of all, we were in the bottom 10 states on five of the seven “domains” that were measured. Oklahoma’s domain rankings were: 
Instinctively,we know that a family’s housing situation impacts the physical and emotional health of the family. Usually, the link between housing and health is limited to comparing the homeless to those who have homes. There are many studies that show that homeless children are less likely to be immunized, more likely to be in poor health, more likely to be at risk for developmental delays, and have higher rates of asthma and infectious disease when compared to those who have homes. We also know that homeless children who are in school are more likely to have behavioral and academic problems. But, what about those children living in unstable homes. Those that are not homeless but are behind on rent or at risk of being homeless. There has been little research into how being behind on rent affects health. A new report from Children’s Healthwatch seeks to fill this gap.
The Tulsa Initiative Blog 