BGC Helps Combat Summer Learning Loss

Power Up is an enrichment program offered by the Boys & Girls Club of Yankton for youth in grades kindergarten through third grade. During Power Up, kids practice grade level reading, math and language activities by participating in hands-on, inquiry based, fun learning activities. The theme for the program this year was BUGS. Power Up also utilizes the Sanford Harmony program to focus on social and emotional skills like kindness, respect and good character.

In order to measure the educational effectiveness of Power Up for the learners, students are given a reading and math test at the beginning and end of the program. Because Power Up meets for two hours a day, four days a week, for five weeks, teachers don’t expect to see significant learning gains. Instead, the goal is to have student scores either stay the same or increase slightly. The 49 participants rocked their learning goals with math and reading class average scores that increased anywhere from 3-13%! In addition to providing a review of basic skills, Power Up helps combat summer learning loss by exposing kids to reading and math when academics is often not a focus at home. The “learning boost” youth are given at Power Up also gives them the opportunity to start the upcoming school year with confidence and promotes future academic success.

Parent and learner feedback are another way for Power Up staff to monitor the impact of the program. Students said they liked it when they did centers like computers, played games, built their own snacks, spent time outside, made new friends and went on a field trip. Parents appreciated the weekly newsletters, positive teacher comments, photos and fun learning activities. One mom even said her son chose to attend Power Up over wrestling camp!

In our Brookings Club, we saw fantastic results! We helped 129 kids this summer to combat learning loss. Brookings also included the Harmony program in collaboration with SDSU and Sanford to teach social skills covered topics such as inclusivity and communication. In the Moody County Club, we saw test scores double in math from the pretests to posttests. The Club had 12 kids participate with gains in spelling of over 5% as well.

The Power UP staff at all the Clubs are confident that this year’s session was a success and look forward to providing this opportunity again next summer. In the meantime, BE GREAT!!