Prevent Students from Losing what they Learned in School During their Summer Break

Students and families are encouraged to read and learn more by participating in the

San José Public Library’s Summer Learning program

Prepare your child for academic success in the fall by ensuring that they attend and participate in library programs designed to keep them from being part of the summer slide, which may have a significant decline in a child’s knowledge in reading over the summer break.   

To combat the concept of the summer slide, the San José Public Library (SJPL) encourages families and their children to register for the library’s annual Summer Learning program scheduled to run from June 1 through July 31. The program is completely free of charge and is geared towards keeping students reading and learning at the appropriate grade level and prepare them for the new school year. Some of the benefits to reading include but are not limited to growing their vocabulary, developing empathy, and gaining confidence. 

To ensure that appropriate learning components are part of Summer Learning, SJPL librarians and staff work months in advance to produce an adequate program that incorporates educational events and workshops at all 25 SJPL locations across San Jose, which are also offered in multiple languages, and both in-person and virtually. Currently, SJPL has nearly 200 summer programs scheduled for people to attend. 

Valuable prize giveaways are offered as incentives to those who join. Registrants receive a sign-up prize, and all participants who complete the Summer Learning program will also have a chance to win a grand prize available to different age categories. These prizes vary from coding robots and Polaroid cameras to JBL speakers and Beats headphones. In addition, branch libraries will host Summer Learning kick-off community celebrations during the first week of June.   

With over 80 years of producing successful summer literacy programs, SJPL attracts thousands of participants year after year. In 2022, there were more than 11,000 registrations, readers logged nearly 72,000 titles, and more than 6.7 million minutes read.   

For more information, including a list of prizes and upcoming events, visit: sjpl.org/summer