The Summer Literacy Infusion (SLI) initiative adds one hour of literacy a day to summer camp programs to combat summer learning loss.
Read Charlotte brought the model to Mecklenburg County in 2017, after learning about it from partners in Philadelphia. The YMCA of Greater Charlotte is our key partner in implementing this program. Read Charlotte made a grant from the Transformation Fund to the Y to manage SLI, and the Y now uses the model in its summer camps and also supports its implementation in other organizations’ programs.
The daily hour of literacy that’s incorporated into camps includes four key practices: interactive read aloud, independent reading, games, and writing.
Our experience with this program has shown it stops the summer reading slide. In summer 2024, 31 agencies (in addition to the YMCA’s own summer camps) participated at 32 different sites. Of the campers served outside of YMCA sites, 97% maintained or improved their reading skills over the summer. Of the campers served at YMCA sites, that number was also 97%.
Groups interested in incorporating literacy into their summer programs can access everything needed through this toolkit.
