I visited the Abyssinian Head Start center on 138th Street in Harlem on Tuesday, one of the last days of school before the summer break.

About 40 four-year-old students will be graduating from the Pre-K program there this year and moving into Kindergarten in new schools in September.  A few of my colleagues and I were there, along with representatives from the NYC Department of Education, to help get the kids excited about reading during the summer.

We were there because we know this: Whether or not each of these students reads (or is read to) this summer will likely impact whether he or she succeeds or falls behind in Kindergarten.

That’s how important summer reading is, according to research.

The NYC DOE is doing something wonderful to help these kids this year. All 59,000 students in the city’s public Pre-K programs are receiving packs of books (purchased from Scholastic) to take home this summer. And each of the students at Abyssinian is now ensured of owning his or her own books, including the girl in this photo.

We know that students who have books in their homes are more likely to succeed academically. And we know that students who read during the summer are less likely lose ground and fall behind.

It’s great to know these students will be starting off Kindergarten on the right foot.