In 2012, the Ohio General Assembly passed SB 316, which included the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. This legislation requires students to pass a third grade reading proficiency test before being promoted to the fourth grade. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County serves 22 public school districts including Cincinnati Public Schools. While reading scores across these 22 districts varied, Cincinnati Public Schools had a passing rate of only 81% at the end of the 2014 school year. While this was the highest score of any urban district in Ohio, one in five third grade students at Cincinnati Public Schools failed the reading test. Summer Camp Reading is an intervention designed to improve the reading skills of the worst readers in a six-week program.

Realizing that our traditional Summer Reading program was not improving the reading skills of struggling readers, we identified a locally-developed program that was getting results. We worked with community partners to select seven libraries to host Summer Camp Reading, based on the reading scores from nearby schools. Through local schools, students were identified and invited to participate. The Camp day includes vocabulary, literacy activities, group reading and one-on-one tutoring with reading experts for each student. Students are tested using DIBELS at the start, mid-point and end of the Camp. The Camp is free to attend.

Getting students was difficult. We had capacity for 84 students but only 69 attended. Based on DIBELS scoring, reading proficiency of campers who entered as At Risk or Some Risk and who attended at least half the sessions improved in ranges from 13 % to 200%, in contrast to a national average reading loss over the summer of 10% or more. Daily attendance at the Camp is crucial for reading improvement and those who attended regularly saw the most significant reading improvement. The one-on-one tutoring is very important. This summer we are collaborating with Cincinnati Public Schools and, with parental permission, will see the long-term impact of the Camp on students, including the results of the reading test. The program costs about $9,000 per site.