The calendar still says August, and the weather forecast still says summer, but the new school year is just around the corner—School District of Philadelphia will ring the bell to begin classes on Tuesday, September 3!  After a summer full of reading and fun, the Free Library is ready to help Philadelphia students and their families find the resources and programs they need to achieve great things all year long!

Here are some of the many ways the Free Library can help students soar into this September and succeed all year long:

LEAP (Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program)
Available afterschool four days a week at all Free Library locations across the city and on Saturdays, LEAP provides Kindergarten through 12th-grade students a safe and supportive place to go after school for homework help, computer access, and engaging, hands-on learning opportunities. Literacy enrichment activities for elementary students are offered daily. LEAP is a free, drop-in program that students can participate in as much or as little as they'd like.
 

Literacy Lab
Available on Saturdays and Sundays at ten libraries throughout the city this school year, Literacy Lab offers free, small group literacy instruction for students in first through third grade who struggle to read on grade level. Certified teachers with backgrounds in early literacy and reading instruction engage students with read-alouds, writing activities, independent reading, literacy activities, games, and crafts.

Homework Help Online
Can’t make it to a Free Library location for homework help? You get access to an online tutor at freelibrary.org/eHomework. Homework Help Online offers everything from live tutoring—in English and Spanish, from 10 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week—to test prep and English tutors who help students' essays shine. Homework Help Online provides resources for elementary to college students, and even adult learners preparing for their G.E.D. or U.S. Citizenship test.

There are many more online resources students and their families can access with your library card (and PIN). Check out all of the available databases or browse a few of the featured resources below from our Digital Learning Portal:

Research in Context provides support for middle grade students working on papers and projects. Students can access magazines, newspapers, multimedia, biographies, and primary sources on a multitude of topics.
 

Kids InfoBits features child-friendly content for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Students will find news, biographies, books, magazines, pictures, and videos on a range of topics.
 

InfoTrac Student Edition offers high-quality content for high schoolers. Students can explores magazines, journals, newspapers, images, audio, and video on a diversity of topics.

LearningExpressLibrary 3.0 provides access to practice tests, skill-building exercises, interative tutorials, and ebooks for college prep and school success. Students can prepare for the PSAT, SAT, AP exams,  and more.
 

Mango Languages offers a fun and interactive way to learn over 70 world languages, includingSpanish, Arabic, Mandarin, French, Russian, Korean, and Hindi.

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.

Popular Music Library and Contemporary World Music are excellent sources for melodies, beats, and voices that clear the mind or amp up study session.

Start Reading!
Students have endless opportunities to engage in that core library activity: enjoying a great book. The Free Library’s catalog includes 2.4 million titles, with 700,000 for younger readers!

Online Reading Challenge
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 at the same location for the Fall Reading Challenge, which will start September 16.

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!

We wish all students, teachers, parents and caregivers the best of luck for a wonderful new school year!