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DEFINE YOUR SUMMER STRATEGY
What are your vision and goals for the Summer Rising program?
Describe your plan to target students and develop programming for diverse learners.
This summer offers an important opportunity to support students who are returning to in-person learning and, more than ever, help them get ready for the next school year. On the way to your detailed program design, you'll need to start with the big picture. Begin by working with partners to identify the target population of students and your shared vision for their growth to define the program's purpose and goals.
How can the summer program provide a jumpstart on goals for the next school year? How can partners work together to engage students and families in new ways of learning?
What practices or conditions from the school year do you hope “spill over” into the summer, in terms of remediation and skill building, family engagement, teacher professional development, and post-COVID school culture?
Where are there opportunities to “go deep” on particular content or strategies students struggle with during the school year and/or during school closures?
How can you engage students, teachers and staff in new ways of learning and spark new passions or interests? How can you amplify opportunities for youth voice and choice? How can you help students discover new leadership skills that will carry forward in the school year?
What opportunities exist for teachers to pilot new strategies, sharpen instructional skills and strengthen relationships with students?
What will success look like in terms of student sense of safety and belonging, engagement, specific desired academic progress, post-COVID school culture and educator practices that you might expect to see continue during the school year?
Once you have a sense of the big picture, it's time for school and CBO partners to get clearer on specific and measurable goals. What changes in skills, knowledge and/or behavior would you like to see as a result of your summer program? What new experiences do you want to offer? Think in terms of focused, explicit skills, competencies and experiences that supplement and reinforce what teachers and students were able to accomplish remotely.
SAMPLE OUTCOME GOALS
80% minimum average daily attendance
Improvement in students’ self-confidence and attitude toward learning as captured by participant survey results
Improvement in families' comfort with returning to in-person learning next fall
Academic sustainment or growth, as measured by pre- and post- assessments
90% of parents will report high levels of satisfaction with the summer program
ENGAGE TEACHERS, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES IN DESIGN
Describe your process for engaging families and students into program design.
Now that you have your vision and goals in place, begin the design journey by reviewing testing and attendance data and collecting input from teachers, families, and students to identify priorities for programming and summer experiences.
What opportunities and experiences do teachers think will be most critical?
What do families think about the idea of their children attending a 6-7 week in-person program this summer - positive and negative?
What do their children think of your program?
What do they want your program to offer? What does the perfect summer learning experience look like for their child, particularly as they return to school for the first time?
What are the key details they want to know to make a decision?
Will your planned program schedule meet their needs? What are the potential barriers (ex. hours, location) that can get in the way of their participation?
Completing the Stakeholder Input and Data Tool will benefit your later marketing and student recruitment efforts.
SOLIDIFY YOUR PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY
How will you integrate the Work Scope that your CBO partner has developed into your overall program plan?
What additional resources / partnerships could be leveraged during the summer?
One of the Core Elements of successful summer learning is the commitment of a school and a community-based organization (CBO) to jointly plan and deliver the summer program. A partnership between one or more schools and one or more CBOs is a win-win—providing students with access to high-quality academics and enrichment, partners with a cost-effective and intentional staffing model and teachers with a more flexible summer schedule.
Once you’ve determined the purpose of your summer program, your key partners and your capacity, it’s time to start planning the nuts and bolts of the program. A cohesive planning team is necessary to create an integrated summer program that may involve multiple leaders—one or more participating principals, EDs of CBOs, Community School Directors, etc.
The Summer Rising Collaborative Program Planning Guide will help partners answer key questions about who they are serving and what activities the program should include.
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