The best summer programs are intentionally designed to focus on a set of explicit skills, competencies, and experiences that supplement and reinforce school-year instruction and goals for students. Programs that use data to design and improve learning and instruction are best positioned to benefit students. 

Academics

Summer programs are short and provide little time for teachers to plan their lessons. Adopting a set of common, high-quality instructional materials reduces teacher burden, increases the content covered and supports better use of instructional time, and prevents inconsistency (and inequity) in student experiences.

Enrichment Planning Tips

Offering a range of high-quality enrichment activities is an effective strategy for achieving program goals. Often, school districts look to community-based partners for expertise in activities like sports, fine arts, design, and cooking. They may also hire instructors internally for these activities.

• Gather information from students on their interests. Consider asking them to rank a set of prospective enrichment offerings in order of preference. 

• Assess available staff expertise and training capacity.

A strong body of research shows that the quality of instruction has the largest impact of any school feature on student outcomes. The same holds true for summer programs. A successful summer program requires a thoughtful approach to recruiting, hiring, and training all staff.  Professional development is the link to ensuring that program goals and plans translate into positive experiences for students and staff and ultimately benefit students.

Site climate refers to the quality and character of the program, relationships, and teaching and learning practices that shape youth and staff experiences.

RAND found that sites with an inclusive friendly climate and engaged staff promote both positive youth experiences and regular attendance. Students benefit from programs marked by clarity of purpose, consistency, warmth, and engagement. Positive site climates rarely develop on their own and instead require deliberate effort. Program leaders should define goals for a positive site climate early in the planning process so it can inform key elements of staff planning, training, and site logistics

RAND found that students needed to attend at least 20 days over the course of the summer program to experience academic benefits. Ensuring strong attendance is no easy task; it requires a thoughtful student recruitment plan and an engaging program. So what kinds of programs do students and families like? A variety. RAND found that the two districts with the highest average attendance rates included one that looked like the school year and one designed like a camp. No matter the program’s focus, timing, messages and messengers were all found to be critical components of a successful student-recruitment effort. 

Recruit Students to a Voluntary Program

Programs should communicate with families early and often, leading right up to the first day of the program, and equip trusted messengers with customized messaging. RAND found that districts with the lowest no-show rates made personal connections with families in their program reminders, including handwritten notes from teachers and phone calls from district and site leaders.

Click here to view: SAMPLE recruitment flyers by ADSY Summer Texas districts.