They call it the “summer slide.”

It happens during those tricky mid-year months, when schools take a break to give students and staff a chance to rest before leaping into a new academic year.

But some scholastic professionals say students are apt to rest too much during summer vacation. The result? A significant loss of academic improvement — particularly in reading — they made the year before.

By the first day of school, students may have slid backward on as much as three months of academic achievement, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

That's in an average year.

This year hasn't been average.

“Kids have had no structure ... for three months,” said Carrie Ohorodnyk, executive director of the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA in Cranberry Township. “They're almost like readjusting (to school).”

YMCA camps are a crucial part of summer vacation for many families, according to Ohorodnyk. She said by offering physical activities as well as programming for literacy, STEM and the arts, they contribute to the “overall well-being” of schoolchildren.

This year's camp, which started Monday, also provides kids with key social elements, according to Ohorodnyk.

For some students, camp means learning how to be away from parents after staying home with them for months. For others, it's about making new friends.

“We find that is one of the biggest problems that kids are facing,” Ohorodnyk said.

Tiffany Harkleroad, youth services librarian at Butler Area Public Library, indicated group learning is a major part of the library's summer programming.

“Every summer, we offer a variety of educational and social programs for children and students of all ages, which we call the Summer Challenge,” Harkleroad said. “Our (2019) summer program attendance was about 1,400 total for the entire summer.”

With the state reopening and the Department of Education beginning to plan the 2020-21 school year, many nonprofits and publicly owned organizations are once again climbing to their feet after months of handling disrupted services.

“The good news is, Summer Challenge is still happening for 2020,” Harkleroad said. “The big change is that it will be delivered virtually.”

The YMCA is expecting to see enrollment shortfalls, between suggested gathering limitations and the fact many families don't need child care right now.

Ohorodnyk said in a typical year, the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA has over 200 camp kids daily.

“This year, we have 70,” she said. “It's a huge financial impact for us.”

Comparatively, the Butler branch of the YMCA has about 90 kids enrolled in two summer camp locations. Sandra Ihlenfeld, executive director of Butler YMCA, said this is about 75 percent of where enrollment has been in year's past.

Summer camps, which traditionally account for about 10 percent of the branch's revenue, are run by counselors with education backgrounds. This helps keep students on par for academic expectations heading into the fall semester.

The library's Summer Challenge, which is free for the public and begins Monday, is organized and operated by librarians.

“In the past, we have hired outside educators to come present programs for the elementary age group,” Harkleroad said. “This year, we will primarily be presenting these programs ourselves.”

Summer Challenge, which focuses most on reading, is open to children from birth through 12th grade. Despite everything, the pandemic has given it an opportunity to grow.

“Registration and tracking for the reading portion of the challenge was all done in person, on paper,” Harkleroad said. “This year, we have adopted an online registration and tracking system, using a program called Beanstack.”

Families are able to register virtually for Summer Challenge, sometimes with the assistance of library staff. Those who don't have access to the internet can work directly with Harkleroad.

The decision to move the summer program to a virtual platform wasn't made lightly, according to Harkleroad.

“We felt like virtual programs were the best option to ensure we were able to maintain our standard summer timeline,” she said.

Among the virtual services the library offers are storytimes for toddlers and preschoolers and educational activities for older students.

While the YMCA is looking to help youths develop academically as well mentally, it's also taking an interest in physical growth.

Because many students have stayed inside over the last few months, Ohorodnyk said it's important to give them chances for physical activity.

All age groups use the YMCA's pool sometime during the week. The YMCA also has plans to build a playground over the summer. Playgrounds themselves can be teaching tools, according to Ohorodnyk.

“They allow children to learn risk management on their own,” she said.

In light of recent civil unrest, Ohorodnyk said playgrounds are also equalizers.

“Kids just play with kids,” she said.

When planning for this summer's programming in January, Ohorodnyk said YMCA workers arrived at the camp theme “Disconnect to Reconnect.”

The idea is that students need to temporarily set aside technology to socialize with new people.

“It was almost like this theme was meant to be,” she said.

Ohorodnyk said she expects the YMCA's counselors this year have a “tough” summer ahead of them because of the pandemic's lasting effects. Harkleroad also expects families will need to adjust to new programming.

But adaptation is part of any student's journey.

“It is normal to miss that face-to-face contact,” Harkleroad said. “(But) we are still able to give families the tools they need to prevent 'summer slide.'”