One Tactic to Shrink Achievement Gap: Tackle 'Summer Learning Loss'

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On a sweltering August day, student Hendrick Estrella sits on a sailboat, dragging his hand through the waves and reveling in the coolness of Boston Harbor. The day before, he had touched and tasted a striped bass, gathering details for a book he is writing about fish.

He is one of 35 rising fourth-graders from Boston's Harvard/Kent Elementary School who immersed themselves this summer in five weeks of salty, splashy fun while boosting their math and literacy skills.

It's all part of an innovative approach that Boston Public Schools and many nonprofit partners here are taking to prevent "summer learning loss" the slide in math and reading skills for low- income …