While middle and upper-income children are able to keep learning each summer by visiting museums and camps or going on family vacations, children from low-income families are falling behind. High-quality summer learning programs are a cost-effective way to prevent summer learning loss and close both the opportunity and achievement gaps.
Summer can be a costly time for low-income families. According to Jennifer Peck, Executive Director of the Partnership for Children and Youth, “While middle-income children retain knowledge or, in many cases, make gains over the summer, low-income children fall behind.” Summer learning programs are a cost effective way to prevent summer learning loss and close the opportunity gap. In order to better understand the cost of such investments, Summer Matters conducted a small survey of partner organizations offering high quality summer learning opportunities in California.
This guide is intended to better acquaint school board members and superintendents with summer learning, and to help them establish or expand programs that result in greater learning and enrichment for the students they serve.
In select communities throughout California, districts are taking a proactive approach to address summer learning loss by using the funds provided by the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Unlike traditional summer school, these summer learning programs combine much-needed academic content with fun, engaging activities.
High-quality summer learning programs aren’t just nice to have; for many students, they’re the difference between the potential for success and falling far behind their peers. In short, if you want to give your district’s most vulnerable students the best chance to succeed — YOU NEED SUMMER.
This packet is a resource to help you advocate for summer learning to be included in your school district’s Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP) and corresponding investments. This guide includes:
The Partnership for Children & Youth reviewed Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) from 50 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in 2015 to understand district investment in summer programming. The 50 LEAs include 20/25 (80%) of the largest LEAs in California and at least one LEA from 33/58 (56%) of counties in California. This research builds on a 2014 LCAP review, and includes 40 of the same LEAs reviewed last year and 10 new LEAs.
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