At #yalsa16, I presented on a panel focusing on summer learning programs with Emily Samose, Director, Education and Learning Initiatives, Urban Libraries Council; Maggie Jacobs, Director of Educational Programs at the New York Public Library; and Kelly Rottmund, Teen Services Coordinator at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. In particular, we highlighted programs with a “double bottom line” approach, addressing summer slide for youth and peers by engaging teens as program leaders.
Emily began the session with information about Accelerate Summer, an ULC and NSLA summer learning initiative funded by IMLS. She covered their findings after surveying, observing, and conducting interviews at public libraries nationwide.
Next, Maggie covered NYPL’s Literacy Leaders program, a yearlong program targeting high school teens in danger of not graduating. The program begins during the fall semester when teens complete a credit-bearing ELA course and continues with teens working directly with younger students during the spring semester and into the summer.
Then, I presented AHML’s Summer Volunteer Squad program, a teen component of the library’s summer reading program. Summer Volunteer Squad is 8-12 focused groups comprised of teens that complete projects for the library over the summer. I focused on the groups achieving the “double bottom line” through paired reading, mentoring through STEM activities and more.
Finally, Kelly discussed CLP’s Summer Skills Intensives. Unlike the previous examples, this program gives teens an opportunity to lead and mentor peers. The weeklong intensives, centering around music and art, leveraged community subject matter experts to help develop teen program leaders.
Learn more from our slides below and tweets about our session.
Want to learn more about transitioning from summer reading to summer learning? Sign up for this YALSA webinar, Making the Transition from Summer Reading to Summer Learning on Thursday, November 17 at 1 PM (Central).
Trixie Dantis is YALSA’s 2016-2017 Board Fellow and Teen Services Supervisor at Arlington Heights Memorial Library.
