The existence of an achievement gap in the academic performance among various subgroups of students is a well-documented phenomenon in American public education (Blackford & Khojasteh, 2013; "Education Week," 2004; Hayes & Grether, 1969; Hernandez, 2011; National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015). This is certainly the case when comparing the achievement of economically disadvantaged students to their more advantaged classmates. Looking at the results of the National Assessment of Education (NAEP), administered during the 2012-2013 school year, only 23% of economically disadvantaged students who took the NAEP test in Pennsylvania, scored at or above the proficient level in reading (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). This study is an autoethnographic view of the development and implementation of Greenwood's Summer Reading Program, an effort to mitigate summer learning loss and close the achievement gap. The philosophical and programmatic shift in reading instruction which took place in the school community from August 2013 through the present is characterized, as well as how creating and implementing a summer book distribution program influenced Greenwood's school culture, staff, students and families. Using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy (DIBELS) assessment, Greenwood found that, all students demonstrated, on average, a decline in oral reading fluency. However, Summer Reading Program participants demonstrated a less severe decline, thus diminishing the summer reading slump. In addition, students who were invited to join the summer reading program, but did not participate showed on average a greater than anticipated decline, in effect, widening the reading achievement gap. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]