A New Vision for Summer School

Summer school makes an unlikely candidate for a bright spot in education reform during these difficult economic times. It occupies a long-held negative place in U.S. culture, prompting dread in the hearts of many former and current students. Summer school conjures up images of sitting in hot classrooms and receiving remedial instruction while others swim, play, and enjoy the bounties of summer vacation. It's often framed as punishment for poor academic performance, carrying a stigma for students and teachers that can result in low attendance and lackluster outcomes. It's no big surprise, then, that summer school is considered an afterthought by most school leaders and that it's often the first program they cut when school budgets are slashed. Yet despite the seemingly overwhelming obstacles, many urban districts are helping create a new vision of summer school that may transform teaching and learning. This is due in large part to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed in 2009. This article focuses on the National Summer Learning Association which has been leading the charge for a new vision for summer school since 2008 and has been working closely with a growing network of 16 urban school districts committed to making summer school and summer learning an essential component of their education reform agenda. Through robust partnerships with local nonprofit partners, these districts leverage community resources and better engage students in different types of learning--while also keeping costs down. (Contains 2 endnotes.)