Better Together: Lessons Learned CCSSO's State Summer Learning Network

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) released a report highlighting key insights from the State Summer Learning Network — a multistate partnership to transform how states leverage the summer months to improve student achievement.

 

Launched in April 2021 as states  adopted summer and out-of-school time programming as a key learning recovery strategy, the State Summer Learning Network brought together nine states for individualized coaching, resource sharing and technical assistance focused on promoting evidence-based summer learning policies and practices. The original participating states were Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia. States in the network reported multiple benefits from participating in the summer learning network, including building a case for the importance of state education agencies’ work on summer learning, developing procedures for collecting and using data and getting technical assistance or resources to improve communication with districts about implementation of best practices and planning for sustainability of high impact programs. Notably, states in the network generally reported more progress in key areas compared with nonparticipating states.

 

The new report, Better Together: Lessons From the State Summer Learning Network, represents the culmination of the two-year effort and highlights the participating states’ experiences. It identifies lessons learned, shares examples of innovative approaches and probes common challenges states encountered. As states and districts continue to support summer learning programs, the report will serve as a resource for all state and district leaders, including those in nonparticipating states.

 

The Better Together report details five key takeaways from the network:

 

1. States embraced an expanded role in promoting high-quality summer learning.
    
2. State legislation is helping strengthen and sustain summer learning efforts.
    
3. States improved collaboration and communication with districts and providers.
    
4. Many states encountered challenges with transportation and staffing.

 

5. Summer learning sustainability remains a priority.

 

Additionally, the paper includes results from a survey of participating and nonparticipating states conducted in 2023 by Policy Studies Associates. Among the findings,

 

States in the network participated in monthly virtual convenings and received individualized coaching and technical assistance from NSLA summer learning experts. Support focused on using data for more impactful summer programs, advancing summer program quality, promoting exemplars of summer learning practices and identifying and disseminating model policies and regulatory conditions.

 

“The State Summer Learning Network has shown what’s possible when state leaders work collaboratively and purposefully to expand access to high-quality, evidence-based summer programs,” said CCSSO Chief Executive Officer Carissa Moffat Miller. “CCSSO has been proud to support this work in partnership with NSLA. While this iteration of the network has ended, we will continue to support state leaders across the country as they promote summer and out of school time learning in 2024 and beyond with a focus on sustainability to improve learning outcomes for all kids.”

 

“Summer learning programs play a vital role in supporting student academic, social and emotional development,” said Aaron P. Dworkin, CEO of the National Summer Learning Association. “NSLA is pleased to partner with CCSSO to provide enriching summer learning experiences to even more students.”

 

Rigorous studies have shown that strong summer learning programs can have multiple benefits for students. A large-scale study by the RAND Corporation and The Wallace Foundation demonstrated that students with high attendance in free, five- to six-week, voluntary summer learning programs experienced educationally meaningful benefits in math and reading.

 

The State Summer Learning Network was coordinated with the U.S. Department of Education’s Summer Learning and Enrichment Collaborative and was funded by The Wallace Foundation and MetaMetrics.

 

For more information on the State Summer Learning Network, including deeper dives into individual states’ experiences, recorded webinars and other resources, visit the Better Together webpage of the CCSSO website. To learn more about summer learning efforts across the country, visit CCSSO.org and summerlearning.org.