Educational Success
Summer Strategy
Supporting and accompanying the educational success of young people during the summer
Although beneficial for most, the summer break sometimes creates issues for some students.
The most vulnerable students – allophones, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with learning difficulties – sometimes return to school with a loss of learning known as “the summer slide”. Youth who have little access to books and informal enrichment activities during the summer return to school with a delay that can have a significant impact on the following school year and even on their long-term educational success.
Mitigating the summer slide among at-risk students
This infographic outlines the key fundamentals for reducing summer learning loss.
You will find more information on the groups of students most at risk, strategies and examples of fun literacy and numeracy activities.
Some statistics
5,400
youth, along with 397 facilitators and support workers, were reached through the ready-to-use activities in summer 2025.
55
newly arrived youth registered, and 30 facilitators were trained as part of the summer 2025 inclusion pilot project.
3,000
books were distributed to 57 day camps and partner organizations in summer 2025.
10,900
Snakes and Ladders games were distributed to elementary school students in Grades 1 to 3 across the Estrie region as part of Reinvent your Summer in 2025.
Summer strategy to support the educational success
As part of its concerted regional strategy to support and accompany the educational success of young people in Estrie during the summer, R3USSIR, in collaboration with its partners, has put in place a concerted action plan to counter the summer slide phenomenon.
Two types of approaches have been targeted for development and deployment according to this strategy:
- The implementation of targeted measures for young people identified in consultation with school service centers
- The implementation of universal measures, aimed at everyone
Specific objectives:
- Introduce fun literacy and numeracy activities in youth and family venues and day camps (non-targeted, universal approach)
- Encourage families to incorporate daily reading practices into their summer family routine
- Offer specific activities to small groups of youth targeted by the school community (targeted approach, high intensity, regular frequency)
- Raise awareness and equip partners regarding the importance of maintaining learning during the summer
- Identify the benefits of summer projects
The educational dimensions that guide the development of these projects are:
- Literacy, reading awareness
- Numeracy, mathematics awareness
- Sociolinguistic integration or French immersion
- Specific activities
- Sociocultural activities
- Activities promoting motor skills
- Activities promoting psychosocial skills
In our toolkit
Summer strategy – Activity ideas
Turnkey Tools
Summer strategy
Infographic – The summer slide
Informative Content
Summer strategy
Guide – Interactive reading and literacy games
Turnkey Tools
Summer strategy
Training – Introduction to Interactive Reading
Webinars and events
Summer strategy
Summer strategy – Activity ideas
Turnkey Tools
Here are some activity ideas to do with your children at home during the summer holidays to keep their brains stimulated and make a difference, all while having fun.
R3USSIR
Consult activity ideas
Infographic – The summer slide
Informative Content
Infographic explaining the summer slide phenomenon and how to mitigate its effects for at-risk students and increase their chances of success.
Guide – Interactive reading and literacy games
Turnkey Tools
Fun reading activities and literacy games for camp counsellors and others running activities about literacy.
Training – Introduction to Interactive Reading
Webinars and events
As part of the Summer Slide project, the Réseau québécois pour la réussite éducative has partnered with Frontier College to offer a series of webinars to community-based youth workers on the topic of facilitating reading. This webinar introduces the basics of facilitation. Note that the webinar is only available in French, but the PPT is in English.
News and events
7 Nov 2025
Data and portraitsRapport d'activité 24-25 : Une année de développement collectif
Read moreQuestions?
Contact Karine Plouffe, Liaison and Development Officer and Responsible for Literacy and Summer Strategy Projects
karine.plouffe@reussirestrie.ca
819 868-3100, ext. 56007
Projects supported in Estrie
R3USSIR accompanies and supports local initiatives to develop and maintain young people’s skills during the summer months.