This summer, 243 students from low-income families in Federal Way have books at home to read.

Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program gave 2,916 new books to students at Federal Way elementary schools through the agency’s Book Up Summer program.

Book Up Summer in Federal Way follows a successful three-year pilot program that helped more than 3,000 kindergarten, first and second grade students improve their reading skills. Seattle students who participated in the Book Up Summer pilot scored anywhere from 5 to 10 percent higher on state reading tests than previous students who had not participated.

Book Up Summer reduces the effects of summer learning loss by enabling students to maintain their reading skills during the summer. Book Up Summer is based on a 2010 Department of Education study centered on increasing students’ access to books in the summer months.

Students at high-poverty elementary schools select 12 new books from a book fair at the end of the school year. By reading their books over the summer, participating students maintain their reading level, and avoid “summer slide,” otherwise known as “summer reading setback,” or “summer learning loss.”

For more information about Page Ahead or Book Up Summer, visit pageahead.org.