Sustainability is top of mind for many summer learning programs. While it’s not a new challenge for the summer learning field, the looming deadline to use American Rescue Plan federal funds and the increased focus on summer learning in response to the pandemic has many program leaders eager to find ways to continue their successful programs. After all, research shows that high-quality, voluntary summer learning programs can produce meaningful short- and long-term benefits for students.
The good news is the U.S. Department of Education recently announced the option to request an extension of when American Rescue Plan funds must be spent down. States and districts working on evidence-based strategies that can significantly contribute to improved student performance—including summer learning programs—can request this extension here.
To help program providers, school districts, summer and afterschool intermediaries, municipal government leaders, and state government leaders use a variety of federal funding streams to support access to high-quality summer learning programs, Wallace commissioned the EducationCounsel to develop a guide, Building, Sustaining, and Improving: Using Federal Funds for Summer Learning and Afterschool. The guide identifies 20 federal funding sources available to support summer learning and afterschool programming and strategies for leveraging them, such as through strategic partnerships that blend and braid funding that some programs might not otherwise be able to access.
In the end, the outcome is worth all of the effort,” added Kasie Roden, Director of PK-12 STEM and My Camp Program Manager at the Grand Prairie Independent School District. “When you have all of those students there, all the children having fun, teachers having fun while they’re at their jobs during the summer, it makes it so worth it.
For a program perspective on sustainability, check out the latest episode of our A Hot Time for Summer Learning podcast. We spoke with two Texas districts who are thinking about and finding success with summer program sustainability. District leaders from Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth describe how they’re making sure stakeholders understand the impact of the program to drive enrollment and support in the community, building buy-in with staff at all levels, and developing programming and culture that students want to be a part of.
“There’s lots of different ways to build the sustainability,” said Lisa McNeill, Accelerated Learning Program Lead at The Varnett Public School. “Once the money is there, it’s a matter of bringing in the right people at the right time.”
“In the end, the outcome is worth all of the effort,” added Kasie Roden, Director of PK-12 STEM and My Camp Program Manager at the Grand Prairie Independent School District. “When you have all of those students there, all the children having fun, teachers having fun while they’re at their jobs during the summer, it makes it so worth it.”
We know many school districts and providers are approaching the end of a long season of summer learning planning, and we know all of that hard work will soon be worth it–and worth sustaining.
