Frederick County Public Libraries (FCPL) is able to offer the best possible library services and programs thanks to our many generous supporters and community partners – like Natelli Communities.
Each year, FCPL hosts a highly anticipated summer reading program, the Summer Challenge. In a normal operating year, the Summer Challenge has over 12,000 people reading, exploring, and learning throughout the summer. On average, they read over four million minutes together in just a few short months.
The Summer Challenge is fun but it also serves a very important purpose.
Numerous studies have shown that public library sponsored summer reading programs play an important role in combatting a phenomenon called the “summer slide.” The summer slide is a significant and notable loss of academic skills during the summer months when children are out of the classroom. These same studies have shown that children living in poverty are more likely to lose literacy skills over the summer and that loss is cumulative. It is extremely difficult for children to catch up, as their peers progress at a higher level, and by the 6th grade, students who lose skills over the summer are two years behind their classmates. Researchers estimate that 50-67% of the achievement gap for children living in poverty and children of color is the result of summer learning loss.
The academic disparity isn't limited to school-aged children and often begins much earlier. In the 2019-2020 school year, 3,073 children entered Frederick County's kindergarten classrooms. Teachers used the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment test and results revealed that only 57% of new kindergarteners possessed the skills they needed to succeed in school. Meaning, nearly half of all children in Frederick County are starting school behind because they lack access to educational materials in the home and access to academic opportunities during the early developmental preschool years.
Without the 2020 data, we know anecdotally that the children and families in our community who have been isolated and out of the classroom for an extended period of time will need support this summer.
Thanks to Natelli Communities, this year’s Summer Challenge Presenting Sponsor, FCPL will be able to host a robust summer reading program that will reengage and reinvite our community to get excited about reading and learning this summer – in a year when the need is extremely high.
Natelli Communities support will make it possible for the library to do much needed outreach to underserved parts of our community, host unique and engaging library programs with entertainers and notable authors, and offer exciting high-quality prizes to our readers who reach their goals throughout the summer.
It is with an immense amount of gratitude and appreciation that we recognize Natelli Communities as this year’s Summer Challenge Presenting Sponsor. Thank you!
More about Natelli Communities:
Thoughtful Planning, Timeless Design, and Attention To Detail. These are the fundamental principles on which Natelli Communities has continued to build its reputation as the premier developer of master planned communities in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States. For over 40 years, their focus on excellence in all aspects of community design, development, construction and managerial processes has awarded them developer of the best-selling master planned community in each of the markets where they operate.
Each quarter, Frederick County Public Libraries features a story from a library lover. The stories, written by our donors, share their personal accounts of what the library means to them. Are you interested in sharing your love story? Contact our FCPL Development Officer at jel-zeftawy@frederickcountymd.gov.