FHI 360 experts share how school districts are transforming summer into a powerful time for academic growth, teacher renewal and student connection — with impressive results. To learn more about best practices for improving summer learning, check out the District Summer Learning Network’s new guide.
Nancy Gannon, M.Ed, MAT, serves as a technical advisor for FHI 360’s U.S. education programs. She has 35 years of experience as a teacher and educational leader, having served as both a school principal and district administrator in the New York City Department of Education.
Sara Doughton is the program manager for the District Summer Learning Network. She previously designed and implemented youth development, service learning and leadership programs in the U.S. and globally.
Why are you both so excited about the potential of summer learning?
Nancy: Districts focus a lot of attention on the school year, working to optimize that opportunity. The same attention hasn’t always been paid to summer; many districts overlook it.
You can get a big bang for your buck – for not that much effort! – by just rethinking the way you’re doing things in summer. – Nancy Gannon
Sara: The approach is often, here’s this set of kids that didn’t pass their high-stakes testing in the spring. They can’t move on to their next grade unless they do. So, many districts focus on remediation in summer, trying to get that cohort to pass the tests. But when it’s framed so negatively and lacks engaging elements, attendance isn’t great, and it hasn’t yielded a lot of results.
Nancy: There’s research done within the last 10 years that shows what does yield results in summer. It hasn’t been taken advantage of, and the dollar per student cost to get improved outcomes is low. The school districts that are getting creative about how to integrate that research in summer are seeing incredible results. Newark, New Jersey has created this robust summer program that focuses on academic acceleration and enrichment for young people. When I toured, a middle schooler talked about how she felt really seen by the adults in her summer program. It was beautiful.
Top left: Jada Tolbert, a teacher at the Dreamcatchers summer learning program at Susan Moore Elementary School in Blount County, Alabama, receives a hug from a student. Top center: A student at the Dreamcatchers summer learning program at Susan Moore Elementary School in Blount County, Alabama, practices math. Top right: Gavin, a student at the Dreamcatchers summer learning. Bottom: Patti Gilliland (left), Teresa Latham (center) and Kim Battles serve children at a special ice cream social. Photo credits: Bita Honarvar for FHI 360
How are U.S. schools performing now, and what needs to be worked on?
Nancy: Anyone can look at the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores and know that we have challenges. The cohort of American students that is in high school now was in 6th, 7th grade during the pandemic, when lots of districts were remote for a year. There is a lot of evidence that they haven’t recovered both academically and socially. In addition to academic gaps, high school attendance is at a crisis level across the nation.
Sara: Many districts we’re speaking to about summer learning are thinking about what it looks like to reconnect. If you do that reconnecting in summer, you can engage students socially and academically, and you can also connect them to possible career pathways. There’s an opportunity to consider internships or externships in summer learning that help students see what their educational path could be leading to and gets them re-energized.
Nancy: Wayne County in North Carolina has an amazing program that is targeting middle schools and bringing middle schoolers in during the summer to learn how to build picnic tables or do podcasts. It’s career oriented, but it also includes fundamentals of math, reading and writing so kids can see how that is connected to a potential career.
What are some of the things you’ve learned that school districts should do to improve summer learning?
Nancy: One key improvement is providing a full-day program. A lot of traditional programs are half day, 9:00am to noon. The rationale for that is that school districts can’t afford a full day, teachers don’t want to stay all day, and kids don’t want to stay all day in a remedial program. However, if you partner with an organization outside the school, like Girls and Boys Club, or your municipality that’s already doing summer camps for kids, you can create a full day package that provides academic components and also includes swimming or art or sports. Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s full day program has a wait list for kids and teachers.
Parents get a full day of coverage, which is essential for them, so they aren’t paying for a summer camp. – Sara Doughton
Sara: Parents get a full day of coverage, which is essential for them, so they aren’t paying for a summer camp. Attendance goes up. The kids like to go because now it’s a blended program with arts and fun things. And because you still only need the teachers for a half day, the costs are still reasonable for the district.
What kinds of benefits are school districts seeing that are working in this way?
Most importantly, there are clear and striking benefits in education outcomes. Students who participated in a summer learning program in Blount County, Alabama advanced an average of three to six months in reading and math proficiency — in just four weeks. But there are lots of other benefits as well. The teachers get a lot of coaching so that they can practice their “science of reading” strategies which are new to the state. – Nancy Gannon
Sara: Summer can be a bit like a lab for testing new ideas and ways of teaching. Teachers have smaller classes and can really practice some of the literacy strategies and new literacy techniques that they are working on. There’s a chance for more connection, more creativity. Teachers working with the District Summer Learning Network tell us, ‘This is reminding me why I got into teaching.’ The hope is that it’s renewing for teachers and students and families, and that they can carry that energy back into the regular school year.