Learning loss, or summer slide, during school breaks

[Updated March 2023]

Dear CBA Community,

Summer break is just around the corner. Whoohoo! God has been amazingly good to us this past year. Many of us are dreaming about vacations, BBQ, and a slower pace this summer. Am I right? 

But the villain of the season is summer slide. 

Summer slide (or learning loss) is the concept that students regress during gaps in learning. We see a slide in students’ language fluency when they return after the two weeks of Christmas break. The long summer season can make the learning loss even more pronounced. 

And the impact is cumulative.

In a study by the American Educational Research Journal, more than half of students in the study lost 39 percent of their learning gains over the course of five summers in elementary school. Simply put, our students can’t take the whole summer off from learning. 

That’s one reason why we created Language On Mission, LOM. The summer program is interactive and gets students learning while they are having fun. Teachers keep them engaged so students continue with their language acquisition instead of losing their skills.

In a study out of the University of Missouri–St. Louis, researchers found that by engaging students in weekly, interactive lessons online, students didn’t just hold onto what they learned over the school year. On average, they made a 13 percent gain.  

That’s huge! 

LOM provides students with Christ-centered, interactive online Spanish classes with a teacher who is a native speaker. Your child will increase in fluency by singing songs, playing virtual games, and having real-life conversations. LOM is an extension of our mission to equip students with language skills so they can love and serve others.  

The classes are 25 minutes long via Zoom. We’ve designed them to keep your students talking and learning. You can also get long-distanced friends and cousins to join your child’s group.

We have a great team in place for the LOM program. If you have any questions, you can ask me or Pam Davis, our Language on Mission Director. 

I’m thankful I get to partner with each of you as we inspire our World Changers!

Nate and the Language on Mission Team

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