Some children who attend Meridian Elementary received a pair of packages which included four specially selected books, along with a personal letter from the teacher to ensure they had access to books over the summer.

This is the fourth year Meridian offered a summer reading program but teachers were concerned that some children were still suffering from what is known as the summer slide, a loss of reading skills during break. When one teacher shared an innovative program she read about in a trade journal, Meridian administrators decided to implement the model to see if they could improve on the existing summer program.

With a donation from the PTSA of more than $1,000 to purchase books and funding from federal programs to cover shipping costs, teachers and volunteers created a system for mailing books to students during the summer. Each teacher made a list of students they felt could benefit the most from receiving books. And to kick the program off, the school arranged a book fair at the end of the school year so all Meridian students could select three books they could take home with them.

“The Meridian Elementary community and school staff demonstrated the power of strong collaboration to support summer reading,” said Dr. Rosa Villarreal, director of multilingual education. “Putting books in children’s hands supports growing a true love of reading.”

In the fall teachers and administrators will evaluate the results of the program by comparing book recipients’ reading levels before and after summer to see if they improved, declined, or remained the same.