Summer Learning & Enrichment Collaborative | Comprehensive Center Network

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With the pandemic waning, educators and youth-oriented organizations across the country are focused on providing children with opportunities to accelerate their learning and expand their social-emotional well-being. Summer provides a unique opportunity to do so, and state and local education agencies have unprecedented funding from the American Rescue Plan to support the development and expansion of summer learning and enrichment programs.

The U.S. Department of Education, in collaboration with the National Comprehensive Center and national partners, launched the Summer Learning & Enrichment Collaborative ("The Collaborative") to support states, school districts and community partners in using American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funds to implement and expand meaningful summer learning and enrichment experiences for students, especially those most impacted by the pandemic.

Throughout the summer of 2021, the Collaborative invited states, school districts, community partners, and other stakeholders to participate in a series of virtual learning opportunities to discuss and share promising practices in planning and implementing summer experiences for all students and student groups. To date, the Collaborative has held over forty topical sessions addressing a wide range of topics from staff recruitment to student attendance, STEM partnerships, developing community-school agreements and many more. More than 20 National Partners, listed below, contributed their time and expertise to building out the programming and supports.

Short videos and collections of resources and practical tools from those sessions are provided here, organized under six broad topics along with videos from informational plenary sessions that provided updates on current issues such as health and safety guidelines for administration of out of school time programs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Education priorities such as ARP implementation and supporting the social, emotional and academic needs of all students.

Videos and resource materials are also archived by date of presentation; see the events page.

As the Collaborative moves forward, we will keep updating this site with information about future activities and additional resources.

Six Topics: Advice from Expert Practitioners

These six broad topics organize the videos, powerpoints, Q&A, and other resources from the presentations and discussions offered during the Spring and Summer 2021 as part of the Summer Learning and Enrichment Collaborative.

Each topic encompasses a variety of themes related to how states, communities, and districts are employing resources in the American Rescue Plan to provide opportunities for students who have been most affected by the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Addressing a full range of student needs

Meeting students’ social-emotional needs has become paramount for those who want to help students succeed academically. Program leaders share ideas for creating a positive learning climate and developing community connections to support students and their families.

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Attracting/supporting staff for summer programs

Meet the challenge of engaging staff for summer programs by reaching out to new sources and diversifying the pool of educators who work with students. Consider incentives that appeal and supports to help educators maintain their energy and enthusiasm for working with students.

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Building school-community partnerships

Learn about how to engage a diverse set of partners, implement effective consultation practices, and build and sustain working relationships. Partnerships are important at every level to accomplish goals for students but they require leadership, effective communication tools, and ongoing attention.

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Effective use of fiscal resources

Find out how states and districts are allocating the unprecedented level of new federal resources, including aligning planned expenditures with other program funding. School finance experts provide guidance about meeting equity goals.

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Evidence-based learning and enrichment strategies

Researchers have documented positive outcomes from a variety of programs, leading to recommended design principles and instructional strategies to incorporate in summer plans. Practitioners share how they implement evidence-based principles in different settings.

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Tailoring supports to specific populations

Advocates and practitioners offer examples of how to plan and implement academic and enrichment programs adapted to students’ varying learning needs and educational circumstances. Examples include programs that serve rural and tribal students, English learners, and students with disabilities.

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Virtual Sessions

We've launched an events page where you can access an archive of the previous virtual sessions.

Visit the Events Page

- The Collaborative is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Education, the Comprehensive Center Network, and national partners representing states, local school systems, educators, community-based organizations and partners.
  
  Contributing partners include:

- The Collaborative provides a hub for coalitions across the nation to build knowledge, share resources and practices, and work together to maximize opportunities for students to grow academically, socially, and emotionally this summer and beyond.
  
  The U.S. Department of Education launched the Collaborative with its first National Convening on April 26 and 27, 2021. The National Convening featured an array of education stakeholder perspectives from across the country, including governors, chief state school officers, local and school leaders, educators, community partners, and other stakeholders joining in the conversation around planning and implementation of strong summer learning and enrichment programs for students most impacted by the pandemic.
  
  Approximately 1,000 participants representing 53 states, outlying areas and territories and 271 Nonprofit and community-based partners participated over the two-day event.
  
  The convening included sessions on forming state-level coalitions; using evidence to inform summer programs; and using federal funds to promote equity through summer enrichment opportunities that support social, emotional, and academic development.
  
  You can find meeting materials, including a detailed meeting agenda, and session recordings, below, and explore resources shared at the convening in our resource libraries on this page.
  
  The recordings from the National Convening will be available on this page in the near future.
  - National Convening of the Summer Learning and Enrichment Collaborative
    
    This is the recording of the convening that occurred on April 26 to launch the collaborative.
    
    View the Recording
  - Partnership Spotlight: Meeting Student and Community Needs Through Partnerships
    
    This is the recording of the Plenary from day two of the convening that occurred on April 27.
    
    View the Recording

- - 2021 Summer Learning & Enrichment: State Guidance for District & School Leaders
    
    From the Council of Chief State School Officers.
  - Accelerating Learning through Summer and OST (PDF)
    
    This file provides tips and high-interest resources to plan a comprehensive summer and OST strategy that benefits kids. It provides an overview of the research and evidence base; details about stimulus funds set aside to support programs; ideas for engaging partners, staff, families, and students in the design; and links to tools that practitioners use to plan and implement programs with quality.
  - Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 through Summer Learning and Enrichment
    
    A recorded discussion that was hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and the Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety.
  - A Summer Like No Other: Lessons from the Field
    
    A report from the National Summer Learning Association on Summer 2020.
  - Evidence-based Considerations for COVID-19 Reopening and Recovery Planning: Summer Learning with Academic and Non-Academic Activities
    
    The Wallace Foundation has distilled evidence from its work that may be helpful in informing choices about how to spend those funds, as well as how to implement key strategies.
  - National Academy of Sciences Report on Summertime Experiences
    
    Report from the study — undertaken by the Committee on the Summertime Experiences and Child and Adolescent Education, Health, and Safety — was sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Wallace Foundation.
  - Resources for Summer and After School Learning (PDF)
    
    A curated list of resources addressing the Impact of COVID-19 through Summer Learning and Enrichment from the US Department of Education.
  - Summer Learning: A Bridge to Student Success – NSLA COVID-19 2020 Playbook
    
    From the National Summer Learning Association, a playbook to provide a long-term, comprehensive, and sustainable framework for planning, collaborating, and executing evidence-based practices and partnerships for high-quality summer and out-of-school time (OST) experiences.
  - Summer Learning Planning Resources and Toolkit - Wallace Foundation
    
    More than 50, evidence-based tools and resources — drawn from the work of five urban school districts and their partners, and aligned with research from RAND — the Summer Learning Toolkit helps educators deliver programs that make a real difference.
  - The Promise of Summer as a Time for Teacher Professional Learning
    
    From the National Summer Learning Association, this report presents data from the first nationally representative survey of teachers about their summer professional learning opportunities.
  - NEA: Learning Beyond COVID-19: A Vision for Thriving in Public Education
    
    From the NEA, in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers, defined the necessary elements to effectively understand and address the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted students’ academic and developmental experiences, and a vision for the path forward.

To express interest in the Summer Learning & Enrichment Collaborative, sign up to receive news and information about events via email.

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National Center - Summary Description

The Summer Learning & Enrichment Collaborative (“The Collaborative”) provides a hub for coalitions across the nation to build knowledge, share resources and practices, and work together to maximize opportunities for students to grow academically, socially, and emotionally this summer and beyond.