Summer Learning Research Based Practices

Rand: Getting to Work on Summer Learning 

Recommendations

- Planning 

• Conduct early, robust planning
• Plan for both enrichment activities and academics
• Engage in a continuous improvement process

- Teacher Selection and Professional Development

• Recruit and hire the district's most hightly effective teachers. 
• Provide teachers with sufficient professional development prior to the program

- Suffiecient Time of  Task

• Operate the program five to six weeks with three to four hours of academics per day
• Provide time for transition in the master schedule
• Schedule academic classes to occur in one continuous block
• Minimize the loss of instructional time by attending to summer site logistics
• Communicate the importance of maximizing instructional time to site leaders
• Provide teachers with strategies for maximizing instructional time

- Student Recruitment and Attendance

• Establish consistent attendance and a clear policy
• Develop accurate, timely recruitment materials
• Personalize recruitment of students and their families
• Establish a firm enrollment deadline
• Track the numbers of  both attendees and never attended

- Academic Curricula and Their Instruction

• Engage experts to anchor the program in written curricula that align with school-year standards and student needs
• Encourage instructional leaders to observe instruction of the curriculum and provide feedback
• Serve students in small classes or groups

- Enrichment Activities and Their Implementation

• Select a model for providing enrichment activities
• Ensure that enrichment instructors have strong content knowledge
• Train enrichment instructors in behavior management strategies and monitor their implementation
• Plan lessons to include sequenced activities
• Plan carefully if enrichment is integrated with academics
• Keep class sizes small

- Positive Summer Climate

• Train all staff on the importance of positive adult engagement with students throughout the day—not only in classes
• Develop a clear, positive message about the summer site culture and ask staff to convey it consistently to students
• Ensure that site leaders observe instructional and noninstructional periods
• If resources allow, consider hiring staff to support positive student behavior

-Summer Cost and Funding

• Hire staff to achieve desired ratios based on projected daily attendance, not the initial number of enrollees
• Consider cost-efficiencies in the design of the program, but weigh them against potential impacts on program quality

Read RAND’s full set of recommendations in Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 2nd Edition 

Covid Relief Playbook

Covid Relief Playbook: Smart Strategies for Investing Federal Funding

www.future-ed.org/covid-playbook/

Program Design

View the following resources and tools to help design high-quality Summer Learning programs: 

 Summer Learning Roadmap - Admisitration Support

Summer Learning Toolkit - Wallace Foundation (wallacefoundation.org)

Summer Planning Calendar - Comprehensive to-do list by month and topic paired with expert guidance - Companion Guide (.pdf), Tool (.xlsx)

Key District Practices for Successful Elementary Grade Summer Learning Programs  

Summer Learning Recruitment - Wallace Foundation (wallacefoundation.org)

Summer Learning Recruitment Guide (.pdf)

Classroom Resources

If you are working directly with students in Summer Learning Programs, the following resources can help you provide high-quality learning experiences for students. 

Valley of the Sun United Way Summer Learning Curriculum

Summer Learning Activity and Entertainment Guide 

Discovery Education - Free  for all AZ public and Charter Schools

STEAM in the  classroom!

Pixar in a Box - Behind-the-scentes look at how Pixar artists do their jobs

Code.org - Providing every student the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core K-12 education

Professional Development 

Summertime is also a great opportunity to deepen your practices as an educator.

Please visit the professional development page to learn about upcoming opportunities for the Arizona Department of Education and our stakeholders. 

Interested Summer Part-Time Work Opportunities

Are you looking for a part-time summer job opportunity? 

ASU Preparatory Academy is hiring Part-Time Tutors.