Replacing the Summer Slide with a Jungle Gym of Knowledge

In my other life, I teach 6th graders about the intricacies of fractions and proportional relationships. I love teaching, and I am always motivated by the challenge of convincing kids that math can be fun and that there is no such thing as someone that is "good" at math. The challenge that I don't love, and don't look forward to every year, is getting kids caught back up after a summer of lost opportunities. 

We've all heard the research. It goes something like this: Due to students taking two months off from school, they "slide" back in their knowledge and learning and it takes them at least the first few months of the school year to get back to where they were back in June. This is incredibly frustrating and especially so when you understand that the students are often below grade level in one subject or another to begin with.

That's where a program like B-SAFE truly proves itself exceptional. By providing a solid academic program for kids, they are reversing this slide, and kids are often able to go back to school even stronger than where they left off. This is truly invaluable and emphasizes our goal this summer of letting kids "Create Their Future". Whether it's writing creative essays in Word, or doing hands on cooking lessons in Numbers, students are receiving an outstanding education at an increasingly crucial time of the year.

By Joshua Donati, Site Director at Epiphany

My name is Joshua Donati and this is my 5th summer working as the Site Director for Epiphany LEARN. During the school year, I teach 6th grade math at Trotter Innovation School in Roxbury. This past year was my 8th year as a teacher. This past October, my wife and I welcomed our first child, Jack, into the world. He's amazing.