It’s Friday, it’s hot, and I don’t want to make my Education Policy Center friends work too hard. But before I take a weekend break, here’s a story from the Rocky Mountain News that caught my attention:

Summer slides occur in more than just water.

During summer months, poor children fall behind academically more than wealthy children do.

In fact, two-thirds of the learning gap between rich and poor can be attributed to unequal summer learning activities, research shows.

Education activists call this the “summer slide” for students in Denver Public Schools.

The story goes on to highlight calls for more federal funding of a special summer school program. I’m still young enough to believe this kind of stuff, but do these grown-ups really think a new government program is the best way to address the problem?

What about the idea of year-round school? Or maybe at least summer school programs that aren’t dictated by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.?

Okay, that’s enough. If you’ll excuse me now, I think that water slide idea sounds really good.