SPUSD board discusses summer learning

Santa Paula Unified School District board members, joined by key staff and community partners, talked about summer learning at a special workshop this week.

The workshop was entitled “Summer Matters,” part of a statewide campaign. They talked about understanding the importance and impact of summer learning, the strengths and challenges in the district and discussed the next steps to address the needs of the students. The workshop was facilitated by Luan Burman Rivera, a California School Boards Association (CSBA) consultant, Peter Wright with CSBA, along with Katie Brackenridge with Partnership for Children and Youth. 

Summer Matters is the first-ever statewide campaign focused on creating and expanding access to high quality summer learning opportunities for all California students. Chaired by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and co-chaired by Jennifer Peck, Executive Director of Partnership for Children & Youth, the Summer Matters campaign is raising awareness about the devastating effects of summer learning loss and the beneficial impact of summer learning programs.

The evening started out with a look at the objectives of the meeting and some background information on summer programs and their impact. Brackenridge told the group that research shows low-income children are nearly three grade equivalents behind their more affluent peers in reading by the end of the fifth grade due to lack of summer learning.

The workshop attendees went through a series of small group discussions, posting their conclusions on the wall. At the conclusion of the meeting they identified short and long-term areas of focus and the next steps needed to implement them.

Three reports from the Summer Matters campaign explore how high quality summer learning programs in six diverse communities across California impact students and their teachers.  They demonstrate that summer is an essential time for districts and their community partners to support student learning, particularly given the well-documented reality of summer learning loss for students from low-income families and English language learners. 

Using data from surveys, focus groups and program observations in the summer of 2013, the reports listed below are intended to help education leaders and program providers understand specific strategies to meet time-sensitive priorities around Common Core preparation, students’ social and emotional growth, and teacher and staff development.

1)Getting a Head Start on the Common Core 

2)Teaching Kids How to Succeed in School