Transcript Slide 1

“Reducing Summer Learning Loss: Implementing
Successful Programs”
A joint webinar presented by
The Wallace Foundation and the
National League of Cities
November 4, 2009
AGENDA
Welcome – Dara Rose, The Wallace Foundation
Introduction – Bela Shah Spooner, National League of Cities
Research Presentation:
 Summer Learning Loss
Ron Fairchild, National Summer Learning Association
 Solutions to learning loss; features of effective summer learning programs
Mary Terzian, Child Trends
 Policy & financing landscape - Ron Fairchild
The City Context/Experience:
Sabrina Sutton, Special Assistant to the Mayor for Youth and Education,
Baltimore, MD
Maxine Quintana, Director of Student Programs, Mayor’s Office for
Education and Children, Denver, CO
Q&A/Comments – Audience
Closing – Bela Shah Spooner
Expanding Access to Quality Summer
Learning Programs
Ron Fairchild, CEO
What typically happens to young
people during the summer months?
 39 studies confirm academic losses

documented nutritional setbacks
Summer Reading
Achievement
Trajectories
Middle-Income Students
3rd
4th
Summer
2nd
Summer
1st
Summer
K
Summer
Low-Income Students
Summer
Average Reading Achievement Level
Summer Learning & the
Achievement Gap
Summer Learning Programs and
Practices: Reviewing the Evidence
November 4, 2009
Child Trends, Inc.
Mary Terzian, Ph.D., M.S.W., Research Scientist
Kristin Moore, Ph.D., Senior Scholar
Katie Hamilton, M.A., Research Analyst
They seek to maintain and increase students’ academic
knowledge and skills. Also, they are:
Recreational
Recreational
Voluntary
Relational
Enriching
Include students of
varied skill levels
Relational
Take place over
a full day
7
Summer Learning Programs: What Does the
Evidence Look Like?
High
Replicated
Experimental
The Level of
Evidence Depends
on the Rigor of the
Evaluation Study.
Experimental
Quasi-experimental
Evidenced-informed, non-experimental
Low
8
Summer Learning Programs: What Does
the Best Available Evidence Tell Us?
Educational outcomes
1. Reading achievement gains are possible
2. Math achievement gains are also possible
3. Impacts on high school completion look less
promising
Career Development Outcomes
1. Impacts on employment are similarly lacking
9
Outcomes with Insufficient Evidence
Educational
1. Engagement in post-secondary education
2. College enrollment
Career Development
1. Career decision-making skills
2. Work-related attitudes
3. Welfare Receipt
Youth Development
1. Social skills, self concept/self efficacy
2. Reproductive health
10
Summer Learning Programs:
Promising Practices
Intervention Strategy
1. Complement group learning with individual support.
2. Make activities interesting and enjoyable.
3. Ground lessons or concepts in a real-world context.
4. Integrate hands-on activities.
11
Summer Learning Programs:
Promising Practices
Intervention Content
1. Teach content that complements curricular standards.
Staffing and Class Size
1. Hire experienced, trained teachers to deliver the academic lessons.
2. Limit class sizes to 15 or fewer students, with 2-4 teachers per
classroom.
12
Additional Program Improvement Strategies
1. Affordable and Accessible

Offer parents free child care during parent events

Provide food and transportation to participants
2. Involve the Community

As funders

As volunteers

As recruiters
3. Involve Parents

In planning activities and in
special events
13
In conclusion….
Summer learning programs
hold the potential to impact
the educational outcomes of
disadvantaged children and
youth.
http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2009_09_01_FS_WWSummerLearning.pdf
14
When asked “Can states and districts use
Recovery Act funds to create and then expand
summer learning opportunities for students?”
Secretary Duncan replied: “Not only can states
and districts use recovery money to do this, we
are asking them to think very, very seriously
about doing this. We think this is one of the best
investments they could make.”
The Federal Policy Landscape
Primary Areas:
Education, Child Care, Nutrition,
Youth Employment & Service Learning
Limitations:
 No federal funding dedicated to summer
learning
 Overly broad or extremely narrow
 Poor tracking & reporting requirements
The State Policy Landscape:
 State & Local resources more significant than
Federal
 35 states have summer education policies
 Policies vary widely, but emphasis on
remediation and/or gifted and talented programs
 Poor alignment across agencies
 Lack of basic data
The Local Policy Landscape
Trends across local areas:
 Schools are largest single provider
 Parks & recreation offer most coverage
 Child care vouchers provide modest support
 Options for older youth are few, focus on summer jobs
 Spending per youth varies widely
 Partnership models offer best opportunity for leveraging
of funds
Strategic Opportunities
1. Use philanthropic investments to leverage
public dollars
2. Direct stimulus funds for summer learning
3. Explore summer learning within the
reauthorization of ESEA
4. Support new and innovative federal and state
policies
5. Invest in data collection
6. Create a New Vision for Summer School
Baltimore City
Summer Learning
Sabrina Sutton
Special Assistant to the Mayor for Youth and
Education, Baltimore, MD
Reducing Summer Learning Loss:
Implementing Successful Programs
Denver’s Story
Maxine Quintana
Mayor’s Office for Education & Children
The Wallace Foundation/National League of Cities Webinar
Denver’s Approach
Leverage partnerships to deliver a variety of
QUALITY programs throughout the City
and create ACCESS for low-income
families.
City Led Initiatives
• Parks & Recreation
– Summer in the Parks/sports programs – fee based
– Swimming pools are free to all youth
– Summer Scholars – Provide enrichment for 6 week program in
partnership with CBO focused on advancing literacy -- evaluation
results demonstrate a positive impact on reading achievement
• Denver Public Library – Summer Reading program
• Workforce Development – Summer Youth Employment
• Mayor’s Office for Education & Children
– The 5 By 5 Project – provides Head Start families with free yearround access and educational opportunities to 12 of Denver’s
cultural venues to support parents as first teachers
• Youth Link/GIS Mapping
– City-wide afterschool/summer directory for families
District Led Initiatives
• English Language Acquisition Academy
– 4 week program, serving 1,600+ English language learners in 3rd
and 4th grade
– Focus on building language development, includes literacy and
math instruction and daily enrichment activities
– 60% growth in linguistic levels
• 6th & 9th Grade Academies
– 2 week program, serving 3,000+ students
– Focus on transition and building literacy, math, and resiliency
skills
– Evaluation data indicates participation is positively impacting
engagement, attendance and grades throughout the school year
CBO Led Initiative
• Denver CAMP (Collaboration Among Many Partners)
– Innovative collaboration with over 30 communitybased partners from DQUAC contributing in-kind
program services
– Joint management with the City, School District, and
CBOs
– Focused on providing academic enrichment
programs, physical fitness, arts, technology, life skills
and more
– Expanded to two sites, serving 400 low-income
students with free quality programming
– Replicated in two other Colorado counties
Q&A SESSION
CONTACT INFORMATION
Ron Fairchild
Chief Executive Officer
National Summer Learning Association
410-856-1370
[email protected]
www.summerlearning.org
Maxine Quintana
Director of Student Programs
Mayor’s Office for Education and Children – Denver
720-913-0905
[email protected]
www.denvergov.org/education
Dara Rose
Senior Program Officer
The Wallace Foundation
212-251-9818
[email protected]
www.wallacefoundation.org
Bela Shah Spooner
Principal Associate, Afterschool Initiatives
Institute for Youth, Education, and Families
National League of Cities
202-626-3057
[email protected]
www.nlc.org
Sabrina Sutton
Special Assistant for Youth/Education
Office of Mayor Sheila Dixon – Baltimore
443-984-3587
[email protected]
www.baltimorecity.gov/mayor/
Mary A. Terzian, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Research Scientist
Child Trends
202-572-6009
[email protected]
www.childtrends.org
Thank you for joining us.
To hear about future webinars register for email alerts at www.wallacefoundation.org.
Also, Visit the our website for two new publications on related subjects:
Thinking About Summer Learning: Three
Perspectives tackles how to improve and expand
summer learning programs for low-income kids –
and includes reports by two of the webinar
speakers.
Investments in Building Citywide Out-ofSchool-Time Systems: A Six-City Study looks at
investments six major cities have made to provide
quality after-school opportunities to more kids.