Elementary School Saves Thousands on Back to School Review

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Oct. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Oct. 7, 2013—ThinkStretch Summer Program is aiding in the prevention of summer learning loss by keeping students engaged throughout the summer. The program had a profound affect on Abbot Elementary School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, helping the school to reduce summer learning loss for their students while saving time typically spent reviewing material when students returned to school in the fall.

Abbot Elementary is a K-5 school of just under 300 students, with nearly 40% representing an ethnic minority and over one-third of students eligible for the free lunch program. In 2011, Principal Pam Sita adopted the ThinkStretch Summer Program, offering a specific summer workbook and parent guide to summer for every K-4 student. Based on average cost per teacher to review the previous year’s material, the first year alone Abbot Elementary was potentially able to shift what correlates to approximately $50,000 typically spent on review to teaching new material in the fall. “I am so happy we went with this program!” praises Principal Sica.

Now in their third year of using the ThinkStretch to combat summer learning loss of their students, Abbot Elementary has developed a strong community of learning. The program has had a profound effect on the elementary school’s students over the past few summers:

- In 2011, 80 students earned achievement medals. That has gone up to 120 students, a 50% increase.
- This summer nearly half of Abbot Elementary’s returning student body earned gold achievement medals, the highest award for program participation, including 60% of students in grades K-4.
- 120 students collectively completed 96,000 minutes of reading, 30,000 math facts, and wrote 7,680 journal entries this summer.

Abbot Elementary is just one of many schools whose students have been encouraged to learn by the ThinkStretch Summer Program. Executive Director of the Family Learning Institute (FLI), Amy Rolfes complimented ThinkStretch for its intriguing writing prompts, complete mathematic content and its colorful, quality achievement medals, saying, “We have used ThinkStretch for four years and are looking forward to using it again next summer.” Over this past summer, every student who participated in the FLI program using ThinkStretch activity books maintained or improved their academic skills.

ThinkStretch is effectively bridging the learning gap one student at a time with its engaging summer workbooks that encourage students to extend their academic curiosity into the summer. To learn more about the ThinkStretch program as well as find bonus material and activities for teachers and parents, visit www.thinkstretch.com.

About ThinkStretch
ThinkStretch is a workbook-based summer learning program based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Designed to retain reading, writing and math skills for elementary students, the program includes a take-home workbook for each student with eight weeks of fun reading, writing and math skill maintenance activities. To learn how ThinkStretch can prevent summer learning loss, visit our website at http://www.thinkstretch.com or call us at 1-888-777-8182.