Sustaining Momentum on Summer Learning

High-quality summer learning programs have been shown to improve academic outcomes while offering students rich, hands-on experiences they don’t necessarily get during the regular school year. In many districts, however, summer is treated as an afterthought with limited staff time devoted to planning and unpredictable funding. 

This research brief focuses on how summer learning leaders in 13 districts across the country have used four key strategies to maintain progress on summer learning in the face of these challenges. The four strategies are:

• Engaging in early, collaborative planning to build internal capacity and commitment to sustain summer learning
• Building broad demand and buy-in for summer learning with students, families, and the community, as well as superintendents, school board members, and state education officials
• Building diverse and durable partnerships and networks with youth development organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs, institutions like museums and universities, and local agencies like the health department 
• Tapping multiple funding streams from a mix of federal, state, local, and private sources

The brief also looks at the trade-offs summer learning leaders have considered in the absence of predictable funding. Examples include:

• A mid-sized southern district anticipated cuts to staffing, field trips, and possibly the number of summer learning sites but not to any core elements of the program—longer day, daily enrichment activities, meals, and transportation. 
• A large southwestern district planned to shrink enrollment if necessary—prioritizing students in need of credit recovery and those mandated by state legislation to receive summer programming—while maintaining its investment in enrichment activities that keep student engagement high.
• A small midwestern district planned to maintain current enrollment levels because it relied on enrollment-based state funding but anticipated needing to make staff cuts and scale back on cultural education. 

The districts discussed in the brief are part of the District Summer Learning Network (DSLN), which has helped more than 100 school districts (and six states) design, carry out, and sustain high-quality, evidence-based summer learning programs that prepare students for academic success and support their wellbeing. Funded by The Wallace Foundation, DSLN was designed and led by FHI 360, with NYU Metro Center's Policy, Research and Evaluation team serving as the research partner.