The calendar still says August, and the weather forecast still says summer, but the new school year starts earlier this year on Monday, August 27! After a summer full of books and fun activities at the Free Library, check out all these great resources to help students throughout the school year.
LEAP (Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program)
The Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program (LEAP) is a free drop-in afterschool program and provides homework assistance and hands-on learning opportunities for elementary through high school students, and daily literacy enrichment activities for early elementary students. For students in grades Kindergarten through 12th, LEAP is available four days a week at all Free Library locations and Saturdays at select libraries.
Connect with a live tutor for one-on-one online help 7 days a week, 2:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Homework Help Online also provides a 24-hour writing lab, as well as resources and study aides for many subjects.
There are many more online resources you can access with your library card. Check out all of the available databases or browse a few of the featured resources below from our Digital Learning Portal:
Ready for a break from studying? We can help with that too! Checkout some streaming entertainment via our Digital Media Portal:
Watch Hoopla to stream movies, TV, music, and audio books.
With Kanopy you can stream four movies a month.
Find music to clear your mind, or amp up your study sessions with the Popular Music Library and Contemporary World Music.
Attendance matters! Good attendance at school helps students become stronger readers and do well in school. Find more information and family resources from Read by 4th to help students become attendance heroes. Read by 4th is a citywide campaign bringing together a coalition of partners working towards a shared vision that all children will be reading on grade level by the time they enter the 4th grade. Find more family resources from Read by 4th and sign up to get free literacy tips sent to your phone for ages 0-5 from Ready4K. It's never too early to start building literacy skills and helping your child get ready for school!
There is still time to participate in our online Summer of Wonder reading and activity challenge, which runs until August 31! And don't forget to check back for the Fall Reading Challenge which will start September 4.
You can also watch instructional and how-to videos on our YouTube channel for more info on our Digital Learning and Digital Media offerings.
We wish all students, teachers, parents and caregivers the best of luck for a wonderful new school year!
Have a question for Free Library staff? Please submit it to our Ask a Librarian page and receive a response within two business days.