Summer programming has been shown to positively affect student outcomes and was widely used as a strategy for academic recovery coming out of the pandemic. Now, education leaders and state-level decision-makers across the country are grappling with how to maintain offerings as COVID-relief funds sunset.
The Learning Policy Institute’s January report, How States Are Expanding Quality Summer Learning Opportunities, and its accompanying brief and fact sheet cover the findings of nine case studies from Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont where policies and practices have been successfully implemented to support summer learning.
“Given the evidence that well-implemented and well-attended academic, enrichment, and employment-oriented summer programs can effectively support students’ academic learning, social development, and emotional well-being, there are good reasons for states to continue their involvement in this area,” according to the report.
Goals for summer learning in Oregon, for instance, have centered around elevating relationships and enrichment, deepening community partnerships, integrating well-rounded learning, ensuring mental health and well-being, engaging students and families and purposeful planning for quality programs.
Findings
Five primary categories of action were observed among the states studied, including:
- Garnering support for summer learning investments
- Implementing state grant programs for summer learning
- Increasing access for priority groups
- Promoting high-quality programming
- Collecting and using data
The report highlights policy considerations for states that wish to expand access to high-quality summer learning based on those categories. Some recommendations states may explore include:
- Setting statewide goals for summer investments that reinforce other state priorities
- Identifying sustainable funding streams that can support summer learning grant programs
- Minimizing administrative burdens to maximize grant program uptake
- Leveraging partnerships to enhance implementation capacity
- Using authorizing legislation or request for proposal requirements to expand access among priority student groups
- Targeting funding toward known obstacles to summer learning participation
- Requiring funded providers to incorporate program practices associated with quality
- Supporting providers’ continuous improvement with technical assistance
- Collecting and analyzing participation data to understand who is participating in programming
- Leveraging grant program outcomes data to advocate for ongoing funding
“In many states, the full potential of the summer months remains untapped. By investing in summer learning, states can better support the developmental and academic needs of students over the course of the full year — not just during the months when school is in session,” according to the report.
