INDIANAPOLIS — The transition into summer may feel celebratory, but experts warn that time away from academic activities can lead to significant learning losses.
“It is a little chaotic—we're celebrating and reflecting on everything that we've achieved over the school year,” said Casey O’Leary, Indianapolis Public School's media specialist.
She emphasized the importance of balancing leisure with continued education.
“It's important to have fun, to be outside, to enjoy time away from school. But when there's nothing academic, our brains lose some of what we learned.”
This warning rings especially true in Indiana, where reading proficiency has suffered in recent years.
Statistics show that in 2024, a third of the state's fourth graders were reading below the basic level.
O’Leary likens the school year’s learning journey to climbing a playground slide.
“I actually tell my students to visualize a slide on the playground,” O’Leary explained.
“We spend the whole school year climbing the ladder with our learning. And by the end of the year, we're up at the top. And if we don't do anything that uses our brains, it goes down."
To combat this decline, many libraries, including those in Indianapolis, have implemented summer reading programs designed to keep children engaged with books while allowing them to explore their interests.
Devery North heads up the program in Indianapolis.
“Children who participate in summer reading are encouraged to read whatever it is that they enjoy," North explained.
"It takes a lot of the pressure off of students who feel like, oh, I have to read this or I have to read that.”
Remarkably, research indicates that reading just four to six books over the summer can help students return to school with improved skills and knowledge retention.
“They can actually lose up to 20% of the knowledge gained over a school year, just in those two months of summer break," O'Leary added.
“Reading is just a critical life skill, and it's something that all of us can be doing during the summer to help improve," North explained.
More information on the programs at the Indianapolis Public Library can be found on their website.
Indianapolis Public Schools also offers a plethora of services to students while they are away from the classroom.
