In May 2022, the 2021-2022 school year cohort of the Arizona Student Advisory Council provided feedback on improving the quality of Summer Learning Programs. ADE encourages administrators and leaders to consider this feedback while designing summer learning programs:
Create fun and engaging opportunities. Suggested tool: makeSpace
Provide student choice with the freedom to explore
Provide online options
Consider program hours to be mindful of work schedules
Opportunities to prepare for college/career readiness
Take student feedback one step further by empowering students in your community to inform your Summer Learning Program design. There are many ways to elevate students' voices, including surveys, listening sessions, student advisor and leadership positions, etc. ADE encourages you to view and use this sample survey to get started on the vital work of incorporating students' voices.
Research-Based Practices
These resources can aid in creating promising practices to design high-quality Summer Learning Programs.
Recommendations
Planning
Conduct early, robust planning
Plan for both enrichment activities and academics
Engage in a continuous improvement process
Teacher Selection and Professional Development
Recruit and hire the district's most highly effective teachers.
Provide teachers with sufficient professional development before the program
Sufficient Time of Task
Operate the program for five to six weeks with three to four hours of academics per day
Provide time for transition in the master schedule
Schedule academic classes to occur in one continuous block
Minimize the loss of instructional time by attending to summer site logistics
Communicate the importance of maximizing instructional time to site leaders
Provide teachers with strategies for maximizing instructional time
Student Recruitment and Attendance
Establish consistent attendance and a clear policy
Develop accurate, timely recruitment materials
Personalize recruitment of students and their families
Establish a firm enrollment deadline
Track the numbers of both attendees and never attended
Academic Curricula and Their Instruction
Engage experts to anchor the program in written curricula that align with school-year standards and student needs
Encourage instructional leaders to observe the instruction of the curriculum and provide feedback
Serve students in small classes or groups
Enrichment Activities and Their Implementation
Select a model for providing enrichment activities
Ensure that enrichment instructors have strong content knowledge
Train enrichment instructors in behavior management strategies and monitor their implementation
Plan lessons to include sequenced activities
Plan carefully if enrichment is integrated with academics
Keep class sizes small
Positive Summer Climate
Train all staff on the importance of positive adult engagement with students throughout the day—not only in classes
Develop a clear, positive message about the summer site culture and ask staff to convey it consistently to students
Ensure that site leaders observe instructional and noninstructional periods
If resources allow, consider hiring staff to support positive student behavior
Summer Cost and Funding
Hire staff to achieve desired ratios based on projected daily attendance, not the initial number of enrollees
Consider cost-efficiencies in the program's design, but weigh them against potential impacts on program quality
If you are working directly with students in Summer Learning Programs, the following resources can help you provide high-quality learning experiences for students.
Pixar in a Box - Behind-the-scentes look at how Pixar artists do their jobs
Code.org - Providing every student the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core K-12 education
Professional Development
Summertime is also a great opportunity to deepen your practices as an educator. Please visit the professional development page to learn about upcoming opportunities for the Arizona Department of Education and our stakeholders.
Summer Part-Time Work Opportunities
Are you looking for a part-time summer job opportunity?
During the legislative session of 2022 the legislature repealed A.R.S. 15-952 as part of the K-12 Budget Reconciliation Bill that was signed by Governor Doug Ducey. Due to this repeal an LEA will no longer be required to submit an Affirmation of Teacher Evaluations by February 1st to the Educator and School Excellence Unit. The repeal of 15-592 though does not remove the evaluation requirements of the LEA for certificated teachers as required under A.R.S. 15-537.
This month's edition includes insightful information on the Stronger Connections Competitive Grant program , TitleIAdmin.com, and other important topics.