In fact, according to a study by Johns Hopkins University, summer learning
loss during elementary school accounts for two - thirds of the achievement gap in reading between low - income children and their middle - income peers by ninth grade.
The
loss of federal funds has stung city
school officials, who started the program with the idea that they would get federal money to help pay for the free meals, which are being served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at various
elementary schools during the strike.