Summer is an excellent time to foster a love of learning in students.

Washington Post: Did you know that by not being in school, the average student will lose up to one month of instruction over the summer? For children with limited access to books, that loss can be up to three months. This puts them at a distinct disadvantage before they even walk into the classroom on the first day of school. Anindita Basu Sempere, executive director of TheWritingFaculty.com, recently shared some tips on preventing the “summer slide” with The Washington Post. Summer is a great time for students to read books that interest them without the stress of grades, testing and deadlines. Sempere advises parents, guardians and mentors to encourage children to take advantage of not having homework and foster a love of reading. She also lists some great ideas to get students involved in creative and analytical writing.

When school is out for summer, many Communities In Schools students lose their only access to reading materials. Oftentimes their families cannot afford books, or they lack transportation to local libraries. Across the network our affiliates work hard to make sure that students continue reading and learning during the break to prevent the “summer slide.” Communities In Schools of Atlanta, for example, has been able to give out 96,000 new books to children in their community.

Education Week: While 2012 has been a year of scholastic growth for many student groups, a new study reveals that students of Native American and Native Alaskan descent are in an academic rut. According to the 2011 National Indian Education Study, released on July 3 by the National Center for Education Statistics, achievement gaps have remained stagnant for Native American students in reading since 2005. And in mathematics, the gaps have actually widened.

While these new statistics are dismaying, they do give educators and nonprofit organizations like Communities In Schools more insight into what needs to be done to help these students succeed. During the 2009-2010 school year, only one percent of the students Communities In Schools served were of Native American descent. But we work hard to make sure that these students, and all of our students, get the resources they need to succeed.

Hollywood Reporter: When British makeup artist Lauren Luke teaches people how to apply cosmetics in her wildly popular YouTube videos, she usually does it with a smile and flair. But in her latest video, “How to Look Your Best the Morning After,” she looks upset and nervous. That’s because this time she teaching her YouTube subscribers how to cover cuts and bruises that an abusive partner or parent may have caused.

A powerful PSA for the nonprofit organization Refuge, “How to Look Your Best the Morning After” encourages victims of domestic abuse not to “cover it up” and to get help immediately. According to the National Coalition for Domestic Violence, an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Thirty to 60 percent of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household. Communities In Schools site coordinators are trained to recognize the signs of domestic abuse, and will immediately help students by contacting child services and social workers, organizing counseling sessions, and more.