IMPLICATIONS FOR PARENTS

Just as parents play an important role in their children's education during the traditional school year, they continue to be a key factor during the summer months.

Parents can increase the odds of their children having a positive summer school experience by taking an active role themselves. Setting high expectations for regular attendance and participation can help their children succeed.

In addition, parents can look to community resources to expand on summer learning opportunities for their children. Such opportunities do not have to be expensive. Parents can help children maintain literacy skills by taking them on regular trips to the library and reading together at home. Similarly, parents can look for ways to encourage the use of math in day-to-day activities to prevent summer learning loss. Summer also can be a time to encourage students to pursue individual interests. Special-interest summer programs may offer scholarships based on family need.

Parents should consider their child's needs, interests, and abilities when making the decision to enroll their child in a summer program. If parents decide summer school is the right option, they may want to ask these questions of summer school providers to determine if the program is a good fit for their child:

• What is the primary focus of the program—academics, recreation, enrichment, community service, social skill development, or a combination? Is this focus a good fit for your child's interests?
• Does the program provide effective teaching strategies, such as individualized and small-group instruction, hands-on learning experiences, or choices of activities? Who are the teachers, and how have they been trained to work with your student?
• How does the program accommodate students' learning styles?
• What are the expectations for families (e.g., transportation, homework support, other resources)? Have you talked with other families whose children have participated in the program in previous years?
• Is the summer program coordinated with the regular school-year curriculum?

The National Association for Gifted Children offers two articles to guide parents in choosing summer school programs and summer camps as well as a list of summer enrichment programs from around the country (www.nagc.org/summer/intro.html).