Program attacks summer learning loss

Using a "phonics flipper," Patricia Hicks turns over a series of cards that show different animals and objects to her young students, who are just learning to read and write. When a dog's head appears, the 11 kids say "da-da-da," sounding out the first letter of "dog."

"Put your hand in front of your face - do you feel the air?" Hicks asks the students, the first to take part in the summer enrichment program Horizons at Dedham Country Day School.

Sixteen children about to enter first grade are in the program - nine from Dedham, and seven from Roslindale and Hyde Park. Horizons aims to counter the summertime loss of academic skills that is most pronounced among students from low-income families.

"Our main focus is really combating that summer slide that happens for all students, but especially low-income students," says Executive Director Meredith Laban.

The six-week Dedham program - the newest affiliate of Horizons National - began June 29 and wraps up Aug. 7. It meets Monday through Friday.

Hicks says that as the summer began some students did not know their letters, and fewer understood the attending sounds. Now, most know both, though, she added, there is still confusion between the letters B, D, and P.

Fellow teacher Qiana Rudek says most of the students have made tremendous gains in literacy development, as they work on letter sounds and "sight words." The latter are words students frequently see when they begin to read - such as "the," "is," "a," "said," and "at."

"They're eager to learn, and they're ready," Rudek says.

Reading and math are the academic focus of the free program, which also includes breakfast, lunch, swimming lessons, and afternoons filled with arts and sports.

"A lot of them couldn't swim, and now they're showing progress - learning how to swim," Laban says.

Asked what their favorite part of Horizons is, the kids quickly agree that it's "free swim."

Having academics in the morning and other activities in the afternoon works well, Rudek notes.

"It's less like school, and more like they know we're going to do fun stuff in the afternoon," she says.

Yesterday morning, after reading and a snack break, the students reconvene for math class. Sitting in a rough circle, they work with small cubes of various colors.

Hicks says "I have three cubes," then asks if her statement is complete. Most kids think it is - but Rafael Feliciano of Dedham gives the right answer.

"You have two dark green cubes, and one light green cube," says the 6-year-old, and his teacher reaches out to give him a high-five.

"I like math because we get to color," explains Feliciano.

Overall, the students are able to say complete sentences describing their cubes without many problems. But more children, including Feliciano, encounter difficulties later as they try to write sentences describing the number and color of cubes in their possession.

Hicks says she tried to go from the concrete to the abstract, "and sometimes it's really hard to make that jump."

Overall, she says, the students are doing well considering it is just their third day on the subject.

The plan is to work with these kids summer after summer. At the same time, Horizons will grow by one grade each year until, in just under a decade, it will serve about 160 children between kindergarten and eighth grade.

"I'm looking forward to seeing them come back year after year, and seeing them grow," says Rudek. "This is exactly why I got into education - to help the kids that needed extra help."

Daily News staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.