13.++Summer+Reading+Programs+(Petersburg+Public+Library)

Studies have shown that reading throughout the summer has positive impacts on children's abilities to retain their learning from the previous school year. Because Petersburg Public Schools employs two different school calendars, I implemented two different summer reading programs during the summer of 2015. The primary program was the Summer Reading Challenge, which took place from mid-June through the end of July. The schools that follow the year-round calendar resume in early August, and I wanted to make sure those students had time to fully participate in the Summer Reading Challenge. However, the schools that follow the traditional calendar resume in early September, and I wanted to offer those students encouragement to continue reading throughout the month of August, so I designed the Summer Reading Game.

I created the brochure for the Summer Reading Challenge in Microsoft Publisher, using images provided by iRead (the company that designed the program's theme and supporting materials) and by the performers we featured.





The Summer Reading Game was an extension activity that was smaller in scale than our Summer Reading Challenge. It was designed to be a fun experience for participants that offered the benefits of keeping participants' brains engaged during their final month of summer vacation, suggesting fun activities that children may not have thought of trying, promoting family activities as well as solitary ones, and offering participants ownership by letting them choose activities that they found interesting or appealing. It also had the secondary benefits of promoting library services and promoting some of the richly educational and interesting sites and opportunities that the city offers.