Local library systems are launching one of the region's largest literacy initiatives, directly confronting a decades-old academic hurdle known to educators as the "summer slide."
The "Maricopa County Reads" program recently began at 64 libraries across the Valley, bringing together 18 public, tribal, military and volunteer library systems. This year, organizers have set a community goal of 110 million collective reading minutes to help students maintain academic skills over the summer months.
An analysis by researcher Harris Cooper showed that while procedural skills like mathematics always decline without practice, reading loss is directly tied to a child’s home environment and access to books.
