FYI from BSF, 06.17.22
Summer School
School will be officially out for all kids in the city of Boston next week.
But a lot of those kids, much to the relief of caregivers, will be busy.
Without much attention and fanfare over the past decade, the city of Boston has dramatically increased the number of children in summer programs.
The “summer slide,” made eponymous by Malcolm Gladwell, refers to the impacts of inequitable access to learning and enrichment activities for children during the summer. Families with means or social capital keep kids’ minds and bodies busy over the summer. Children without resources experience arrested development, with evidence of declines in reading and math and socioemotional development. The summer slide may also contribute to/cause achievement gaps between subgroups.
Over the past decade, Boston has made amazing progress in closing these gaps.
614% growth is not typical in any field, let alone education.
And, the Boston students who participated experienced significant improvements in literacy, math, and social development.
Boston started a public-private partnership for out-of-school time in 2005 with Boston After School and Beyond (BASB). The city’s summer partnership accelerated in 2015 with the Boston Summer Learning Project, formalized in 2017 as the “5th Quarter.” With BASB as a coordinator, public and private dollars and technical assistance flow to a diverse range of summer programs.
Like most things, the pandemic creates complications. Despite significant amounts of federal stimulus dollars targeted toward summer learning and experiences, hiring shortfalls and varying levels of vaccination/comfort among families and students created barriers (and 2021 included some additional BPS data) . A report on the summer of 2022 will be available this fall.
A key component of the initiative is not just access, but program quality. In order to stop the slide, according to RAND research, program quality must be present, as well as high attendance. Centralizing summer opportunities, under the umbrella of a public-private partnership, allows for summer programs to be vetted, supported, and track student activity and outcomes. It also allows for a range of activities, from academic remediation to wilderness camps. Full list here.
Even after the final bell of the school year, a new superintendent will have a quick view of something that works in the Boston education landscape, and a basic approach to repeat: outcome-driven, evidence-based, central planning with local differentiation, and leveraging community partners.
Boston’s summer work is now a replicable, national model.
Those lessons can be applied in other areas in Boston to move the system forward.
Notes in the Margin
For all the attention around the superintendent and state intervention, things got pretty quiet this week. Mayor Wu spoke publicly about the need for long-term leadership. Academic outcomes were highlighted. Commissioner Rileywas profiled.
But with public interviews scheduled to start Wednesday and a potential School Committee vote on June 29th, finalists should be public soon. And perhaps a decision on the need for an interim superintendent?
If not settled in the next few days, the school year will end without a new Boston Teachers Union contract.
Boston isn’t the only major city witnessing a major decline in the child population - see this in-depth report from Chicago. If school consolidations are coming, as acknowledged by Dr. Cassellius, the School Committee, and multiple City Council members, family support during that process will be critical.
A new city department and a potential new state law could provide significantly more resources for student mental health.
Other Matters
School reported COVID-19 cases nearly halved from last week across Massachusetts, down slightly in Boston. Next year, nearly every child in a care setting/school will be eligible for a vaccine.
The culture war in schools in America is playing out at a Catholic school in Worcester.
The bookends of PK-12 continue to feel the squeeze. In Massachusetts, early child care costs continue to go up while higher education enrollment continues to go down.
Any school still in session will be closed Monday in observance of Juneteenth.