21st CCLC's
Best Summer Ever!
Vision & Planning Tools
DEVELOP YOUR VISION
21st CCLC Summer Learning Programs focus on addressing Academics, Youth Development, and Family Engagement. Envisioning what success looks like will help you to begin strategizing how you’ll meet the needs and interests of youth and families while supporting them to achieve outcomes aligned with 21st CCLC program priorities. Setting up an intentional cycle of feedback and reflection opportunities enables you to capture and act upon lessons learned as you work to strengthen summer learning programs from year to year.
SUMMER PROGRAM VISION AND GOALS
How do your vision and goals for your 21st CCLC summer learning program address Academics, Youth Development, and Family Engagement?
What do you hope young people, their families, teachers, and program staff will experience because of your program?
What do stakeholders tell you matters to them when it comes to improving your program?
Tips
Commit in the fall to have a 21st CCLC Summer Learning Program and engage in a Continuous Quality Improvement process that includes pre- and post- tests, stakeholder feedback, and site and classroom observations
Determine which young people to target and spend some time imagining what you hope these young people, their families, and their teachers and site staff will experience as a result of your 21st CCLC Summer Learning Program
Develop a vision and goals with clear success criteria that show how 21st CCLC summer learning program activities lead to the outcomes you hope young people will achieve
Sample Outcomes
21st CCLC summer learning program is implemented for one week longer than the previous year/one week longer than the minimum requirement to support young people in achieving desired outcomes
Summer program data demonstrates academic growth achieved by high-attendance participants
Academic offerings as described in the original grant are based on rigorous scientific research that aligns with the measures of effectiveness. Summer programs provide academic enrichment activities to students in core content areas such as reading, literacy, and math.
Youth Development includes a broad array of youth development services, programs and activities as described in the original grant that must be offered to participating 21st CCLC students. Youth development activities should be designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students and often include project-based learning. Activities may include leadership, service learning, counseling, art, music, technology, coding, STEM, cultural & character education, health & physical education, environmental literacy, drug & violence prevention, etc.
Family Engagement refers to an intentional and systemic partnership of education, family, and community members who share responsibility for a student’s preparation for school, work, and adult life.
Click arrow at right to expand for key Strategic Visioning activities and guiding questions to support your planning process.
Build Collaborative Relationships with Youth, Families, and Teachers - Utilize the envisioning process as a catalyst to create or deepen trusting relationships and equitable partnerships with stakeholders.
What 21st CCLC summer learning program activities do young people say they like? Dislike?
What areas of academic progress do teachers think are most critical?
How will you support families to provide informed input on the vision for your 21st CCLC summer learning program?
What do participating families value about your 21st CCLC summer learning program?
What barriers or challenges keep families from enrolling their children in 21st CCLC summer learning programs?
What key details do families need to know before enrolling in your 21st CCLC summer learning program?
What do you hope teachers will experience this summer / as a result of this summer?
Leverage Partnerships that Expand Horizons - Collaborate with partners you trust to complement and enhance youths’ academic learning and life skills, provide access to “non traditional sources of instruction,” or strengthen civic engagement and ties to the local community.
How will you identify program gaps and needs that can be addressed by partner organizations?
What local characteristics, assets, and cultural elements are widely recognized and valued by your community?
How will enrichment activities engage students in learning that supports academic learning, SEL and youth development?
How might you develop partnerships to enhance enrichment and instructional offerings, including non-traditional sources of instruction?
Make Every Summer the Best Summer Ever - Engage in a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process that supports stakeholders to reflect on key strengths and opportunities for improvement and leverages these insights to refine the 21st CCLC summer learning program from year to year.
How will your team document challenges and lessons learned during program implementation?
How will you secure ongoing feedback from youth, families, teachers and program staff before, during, and after your 21st CCLC summer learning program?
How will you communicate program goals and key measures to stakeholders and staff?
Where do 21st CCLC summer learning program goals align with district and/or school priorities?
PLANNING IS FOUNDATIONAL
Evidence shows that collaborative planning can strengthen alignment between academic and enrichment activities and prepare your team to deliver a holistic and exciting 21st CCLC summer learning program. Kickstarting your plan early gives you space to incorporate feedback from youth and families and co-design the vision and goals with the teachers, enrichment partners and staff who will bring the program to life.
Tips
Conduct early, robust planning that engages site- and district-level 21st CCLC staff as well as families, teachers, and school leaders.
Create a calendar with clear deadlines and task assignments to anchor planning
If possible, hire teachers based on motivation and effectiveness rather than seniority
Sample Outcomes
Year-round planning team is identified and engaged in a minimum of 1-2 meetings or asynchronous activities before winter break
90% of teachers and staff report that they were adequately trained and prepared to implement high-quality learning and enrichment activities
Building Blocks
for Summer Climate
& Culture
Developed in partnership with Dr. Jennifer McCombs, this graphic demonstrates a critical reflection she shared about why intentional planning is so a critical: When adults are confused, children suffer.
Q&A with Dr. McCombs.mp4Dr. Jennifer McCombs
Watch the full spotlight with Dr. Jennifer McCombs, co-author of Getting to Work on Summer Learning
Click arrow at right to expand for key Planning activities and guiding questions to support your planning process.
Plan the Program Master Calendar/Schedule - Develop a schedule that maximizes instructional time while balancing academic learning and enrichment activities.
How will you communicate with families, teachers, and staff to ensure the calendar and daily schedule are conducive to reaching program goals?
What additional details such as busing, meal, and snack times, do you need to consider as you develop the daily schedule?
How will you organize the daily schedule to maximize learning and engagement?
What site details do you need to consider when planning your daily schedule?
Develop Your Approach for Staffing and Professional Development - Consider how you’ll leverage resources and tools to maximize collaborative planning and team building during synchronous professional development.
How are program priorities and vision woven into the hiring process to ensure staff are strongly aligned?
What preplanning and professional development will maximize staff readiness to deliver high quality programming?
How can you leverage high quality teachers and staff to inform and support professional development?
What resources including job descriptions, staff handbooks, and onboarding guidelines will best ensure staff are clear on roles and responsibilities?
Plan Your Instructional Approach and Select Your Curricula - Determine how program goals will translate into positive experiences that yield outcomes.
The Arizona Department of Education requires that academic activities must address the needs of schools and communities. Programs should design academic offerings based on rigorous scientific research that aligns with the measures of effectiveness to guide local grantees in identifying and implementing best practices to enhance student learning. Grantees must provide academic enrichment activities to students in core content areas such as reading, literacy, and math.
How might teachers and enrichment providers collaborate to embed youth development, and program culture into academic learning?
How might teachers and enrichment providers collaborate to ensure enrichment activities complement and reinforce academic learning?
Who might inform curricula selection to ensure it addresses targeted students’ learning needs?
What program culture elements and activities can be incorporated into non-instructional time, like transitions, meals, pickup, and dropoff?
Set the Budget and Plan for Sustainability - Consider what partnerships and funding sources are most likely to support the program beyond 21st CCLC funding.
How might you build relationships with local business and industry toward securing sponsorship for the program or aspects of the program relevant to their interests?
What additional funding sources such as grants, private foundations, or corporations include goals and outcomes that align with what you are already working to achieve in your summer learning program?
How will guidelines from additional funders be communicated to program leaders to ensure program alignment that maximizes funding potential?
COMMUNICATE SHARED VALUES
Research shows that young people with high attendance in quality summer learning programs gain an advantage in math and reading. Encouraging high attendance is an extremely important part of running a high-quality summer learning program. Adapting recruitment language for different audiences will build trust with teachers, families, and young people while helping them to see how your program aligns with their priorities.
21st CCLC regulations require that the 21st CCLC summer learning programs must provide safe and accessible environments for students during non-school hours. Program services may be offered at the school and at other locations. If services are offered at other locations, the site must be as accessible as if it were at the students’ own school. All centers must provide a range of high-quality services to support student learning and development. There must be a clear plan for safety, nutrition, equitable participation of all program participants, and communication between schools and summer and afterschool programs.
Tips
Include all instructional and site staff in academic professional development and emphasize that engaging, academic learning is part of summer fun
Develop accurate, timely recruitment materials that are personalized for targeted young people and their families
Establish a clear attendance policy and track the number of enrollees who never attend along with daily attendance tracking
Sample Outcomes
Staff handbook is developed, expanded, and/or positioned as a reference resource during professional development and program implementation
5% increase in the number of young people registered from targeted populations over the previous year’s program
80% of adult family members report that program offerings met or exceeded their expectations
Recruitment materials were disseminated through 1-2 previously unused communication methods or messengers
Click arrow at right to expand for key Recruitment & Culture activities and guiding questions to support your planning process.
Get the Word Out - Use recruitment materials and events to inform, excite, and prepare youth and families.
How will achieving 21st CCLC summer learning goals support youth readiness for the coming school year?
Why should families trust your program to keep their children safe, engaged, and learning this summer?
What exciting field trips or activities do young people most want to experience?
What key details will help families decide to participate and prepare for consistent attendance?
Equip Trusted Messengers - Lean on principals, teachers, enrichment partners, and engaged family members to promote your 21st CCLC summer learning program through familiar methods.
How might you leverage routine communication methods and events that are already informing families during the school year, including during afterschool programs?
Who in your school community is well positioned to help families see that summer learning is critical to achieving academic outcomes? Who are the “fun” teachers or school leaders that young people love to be around?
Where could you include the voices of youth and families who loved and learned from your 21st CCLC summer learning program?
Prepare for a Safe, Healthy, and Enriching Summer - Develop and share a detailed plan to ensure that all learning environments are safe and accessible and that participating youth have access to healthy foods and adequate transportation.
