BEAM Lab, RSM, and Productive Partnership Combat "Summer Slump"

Date

August 27, 2025

Topics

Area of Expertise

Literacy & Language

Summer may be just about over, but that doesn’t mean all of Charlestown’s youngsters took the summer off from reading. Far from it, thanks to the collaboration of the MGH Institute’s Brain, Education, and Mind Lab (BEAM Lab), neighboring partner RSM, and Charlestown’s two elementary schools, an annual initiative that ended earlier this month fostered reading opportunities for these students.

For the eighth straight year, the Summer Program in Literacy and Scholarship (SPLASH) reinforced readings skills for kindergarten through sixth graders at the Harvard-Kent and Warren-Prescott Elementary schools. The idea is to prevent the “summer slide,” that so many students experience when they don’t read enough during their extended break, and promote reading growth.

For five weeks, teachers and IHP graduate students worked with164 students across the two elementary schools through reading, science, and math programming. The BEAM Lab, overseen by director and researcher Dr. Joanna Christodoulou, provides consultation, materials, guidance on selecting summer literacy programs, review of scheduling and group settings to implement reading instruction, training for school staff on reading programs, acquisition of reading materials and programs, and translation of research for practice. BEAM Lab member Alexander Kaminsky was also part of day-to-day operations of the program, coordinating weekly snack meet-and-greets for staff, resource sharing, and refinement of everyday practices to meet the needs of the schools, students, staff, and families.

It’s a win-win for all involved: students receive – at no cost - enhanced and more individualized instruction, Harvard-Kent and Warren-Prescott school staff receive more support, MGH Institute students gain invaluable school-based training, Christodoulou’s lab studies the summer slide during these sessions, while the Charlestown community benefits from the overall partnership.

So far, 775 students have been impacted by the SPLASH program over the past eight summers.

“This partnership has grown throughout the years to impact more of the Charlestown community,” said Christodoulou. “RSM’s support has made it possible for us to serve three times as many students each summer, and the energy from the school communities has been remarkable. We are grateful to serve these students and promote their success in reading during a season when skills are vulnerable, and the schools and RSM partners have made this success possible.”

RSM provided end-of-summer surprises for the students with backpacks filled with pencils, crayons, folders, and notebooks. On top of that, the RSM team hired in an ice cream truck filled with summer treats for SPLASH students and staff at both schools.

This year’s MGH Institute participants were Speech-Language Pathology students Elaine Leung, Diya Chen, Sarah Campbell, Haylie Santos, Victoria Catipon, Jenna Connors, Mia Obermuller, Edan Caggiano, Yobella Cook, Sam Muturi, Hannah Indiviglio, and Sarah Pineda; Marcy Chan, Rachel Norton, and Julia Yi were their supervisors.

“SPLASH was such a wonderful experience,” said MGH Institute student clinician Hannah Indiviglio. “It was so great to have the opportunity to work on speech and language all day in the classroom.”

Added MGH Institute supervisor Rachel Norton: “I especially enjoyed building connections with the dedicated teachers and their joyful, curious students, and it was inspiring to watch our IHP students transform their knowledge and skills over the summer term.”

Students with SPLASH program at Harvard-Kent — MGH Institute students and faculty helped students at Charlestown’s Harvard-Kent school with Reading, Math, and Science this summer as part of the Summer Program in Literacy and Scholarship (SPLASH) program. From l to r, Speech-Language Pathology students Elaine Leung, Diya Chen, Sarah Campbell, Haylie Santos, Victoria Catipon, Jenna Connors, Mia Obermuller, Edan Caggiano, supervisor Rachel Norton, and supervisor Julia Yi.

Four people sit at a classroom table — (from l to r) Speech-Language Pathology students Yobella Cook, Sam Muturi, Hannah Indiviglio, Sarah Pineda taught at Charlestown’s Warren-Prescott this summer as part of the Summer Program in Literacy and Scholarship (SPLASH) program.

Children and adults lining up at an ice cream truck — Students and staff crowd outside the ice cream at the Warren-Prescott School to celebrate the Summer Program in Literacy and Scholarship (SPLASH) program. The ice cream truck was made possible by neighbor partner RSM, which has been a financial supporter of the program for the past three years.

A person stands with a book in their hands in front of kids sitting on classroom floor while another adult looks on — MGH Institute Speech-Language Pathology students Sarah Pineda (l) and Sam Muturi read a book to captivated students at the Warren Prescott School.

A woman sits in a chair with children sitting on the floor in a classroom — MGH Institute s Speech-Language Pathology student Jenna Connors led a read-aloud to let Harvard-Kent students practice their reading Fundations (a research-based literacy tool).

Two women read aloud to children sitting on the floor of a classroom — RSM staff came to Harvard-Kent and Warren-Prescott schools to read aloud and drop off new backpacks.