Meaningful (and Imperfect) Continuous Improvement: Slowing it Down, Breaking it Down in Implementation Labs

On November 9, the second Implementation Lab for the five-part, 21st CCLC Best Summer Ever professional development series offered a deep dive into the Strategic Vision Tool to consider what action steps may be involved in developing meaningful responses to the questions it poses. We also considered why strategic visioning is important, the implications of the tool based on the current state of program planning, and how it can be used to lay the foundation for a sought-after, high-quality 21st CCLC program that’s valued and supported by  teachers, school leaders, and other relevant stakeholders in your community.

Thanks to those who joined us! We heard from you that mid-November proved to be a busy time and we commend you for taking on Continuous Quality Improvement for your 21st CCLC summer learning program while also grappling with challenges that emerge in your fall afterschool programs. We also heard that many of you have already taken steps to set up collaborative reflection with key stakeholders. Some of the questions that came up during the Implementation Lab can be found here, with responses from The Learning Agenda team:

• Our summer learning program went really well last year and right now it's the afterschool program that’s challenging. How can I recruit staff and teachers for summer when they are feeling overwhelmed by the programs we are implementing right now?

• What does meaningful family engagement look like in middle and high school? How are programs gathering input from students and families during visioning and planning?

Implementation Labs will be offered after each professional development session as an opportunity for peer-to-peer discussions, expert guidance on topics of interest and need, and deeper exploration of tools. They also provide an opportunity to get support as you think through right-sizing your continuous improvement process and the action steps you’ll take to meet improvement goals. 

The Learning Agenda has developed the 21st CCLC Best Summer Ever! professional development series to provide evidence-aligned guidance and resources. Ideally, even a program leader deep in their CQI process can use this PD series to learn how to make every summer the best summer ever for their community. Since it isn’t feasible (or recommended!) to attempt to use all of the strategies shared in this series in one continuous improvement cycle, the Strategic Vision Tool can support you to instead think about the next strategy you’ll use to make impactful improvements based on your community’s priorities.

Our summer learning program went really well last year and right now it's the afterschool program that’s challenging. How can I recruit staff and teachers for summer when they are feeling overwhelmed by the programs we are implementing right now?

According to RAND, research shows that program leaders who commit to a program in the fall and begin planning by January run smoother programs with fewer disruptions. Consider the pain points that teachers and staff are experiencing right now and share how the strategies you want to incorporate will alleviate or minimize these pain points in the future. For example, afterschool staff members might be interested to learn that participating in the planning process now will lead to smoother programs in the future, and potentially surface some winning practices they can use to improve afterschool programs, too. Teachers might be more compelled to participate in summer planning and programming if you share how their support now will lead to more prepared students in their classrooms next fall. 

You may also consider gathering teacher input about ideal start and end dates for summer programs and think about ways you can create a unique program experience for teachers, too: Could they share instruction or team teach in the summer? 

In a panel at the National Summer Learning Conference ADE Program Specialist Emma Chavez shared that she observed teachers becoming more energized as they experienced joyful student engagement in the summer learning space, noting that burnout is partly due to feeling overworked and ineffective in spite of all that work. What steps could you take toward a more robust planning process that sets the stage for teachers to feel and be effective?

Lastly, if wage increases or stipends are possible, consider extending these to teachers and staff substantively engaged in the planning process. Not only does this incentivize participation, it acknowledges and invests in the significant value they bring to your 21st CCLC summer learning program.

What does meaningful family engagement look like in middle and high school? How are programs gathering input from students and families during visioning and planning?

The ADE 21st CCLC Framework on Family Engagement names trusting relationships, welcoming and affirming environments that are culturally responsive, two-way communication, and linked learning as the essential conditions and opportunities for meaningful family engagement. 

Effective communication is the first step to understanding adult family members’ needs and interests so that you can meet them with compelling opportunities to engage in and better understand your 21st CCLC summer learning program. This resource from Flamboyan Foundation offers considerations and tips for engaging with families, and includes sample communications: Communicating with Families in Different Contexts. 

An article from the Global Family Research Project entitled, Research Shows Home-School Communication is Forever Changed, looks at some of the lessons learned by school administrators during the pandemic–virtual meetings and communicating via mobile apps, especially those that have translation features, greatly improved their ability to communicate with families. Consider setting up virtual meetings for families to discuss what worked in last year’s summer program and what they hope to see before registering their children for next summer. 

Bridging Content Learning to Improved 21st CCLC Summer Learning Programs with Post-Session Implementation Labs

On October 5, The Learning Agenda hosted the first Implementation Lab for our five-part professional development series, 21st CCLC’s Best Summer Ever. Thanks to those of you who joined us! Implementation Labs will be offered after each professional development session as an opportunity for peer-to-peer discussions, expert guidance on topics of interest and need, and deeper exploration of tools. 

Our primary goal for this first Implementation Lab was to hear from you about how we can best tailor the professional development series and the Implementation Labs to meet your needs. We reintroduced the Reflection Tool and the Learning Hub that houses all of the guidance, materials and tools we will share throughout the series. 

We also heard from you what’s on your mind. Your comments and questions prompted us to add this Implementation page to our Learning Hub to have a place where we can respond to 3-5 questions that emerged during the Implementation Lab, uplift winning strategies from your peers, and share resources that speak directly to the challenge at hand. Read on to see our responses to questions that came up during our first Implementation Lab.

• How can partnerships help with staff shortages? How can summer reinvigorate teachers?

• How can we ensure equity in access so that all students have educational and fun experiences in summer?

• What family engagement strategies have been successful, particularly coming out of Covid-19 and with ELL families?

• How can leaders invite feedback from stakeholders about creative, innovative ideas for summer learning?

• What strategies have worked to engage high school students in summer learning beyond credit recovery?

Lastly, we acknowledge that some of your questions speak to your focus on the high-level, long-term strategic planning that will truly transform summer learning in your community. This professional development series gives you tools to be a catalyst for summer learning transformation, and that is just the beginning–when we transition to a dedicated learning community we will have the space and structures in place to support you as you go deeper and tackle these big questions. For now, we are taking notes and reflecting on how these needs and interests will inform our approach for learning community development. 

Do you have a question or challenge you’d like to uplift? Click on the Ask an Expert button below. We will continue to update this  page as we hear from you, so check back frequently.

Join us for our next session, Envisioning Outcomes-Focused, Authentic Engagement for Youth & Families on Wednesday, November 2 from 3 - 4:30 pm! This session will help you to clarify your vision for summer learning, develop or strengthen goals and indicators of success, identify key planning milestones, and plan an instructional approach that reflects the needs and interests of students, their families and teachers. Register here!