Summertime can be a needed break from the classroom for students – but for others, it is time spent away from practicing important skills. To help kids keep up their reading this summer, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation focused significantly on literacy programs – and the results and responses were overwhelmingly positive. During the COVID-19 pandemic when children were learning from home, many young students’ reading proficiency cratered. According to data gathered by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, each racial demographic of third-grade students in the CHCCS district saw a drastic drop-off and slow return of reading – with minority students affected the most. Understanding that literacy is a key determining factor for students’ overall experience in school, the Public School Foundation decided to make a “push” for that to be its central issue to help address in the coming years. Executive Director Madeline Blobe told 97.9 The Hill the group dec...