Guest Post: The Challenges of Summer Learning Loss

In 2015, Spark partnered with a number of organizations including the National Summer Learning Association, for the Expanded Learning Summit.  The gathering focused on how to make expanded learning the new normal for middle school students.  Here, Matthew Boulay, the founder of the National Summer Learning Association, explains “summer learning loss” and shares a few tips for keeping students engaged during the summer months.  Because Spark’s core mentoring program only operates during the school year, it’s helpful for mentors, educators and parents to realize the role they play in keeping students on track.

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Summer learning loss occurs when students disengage from academics throughout June, July and August.  What might seem like a short academic break manifests into challenges for students, teachers and even schools. 

Summer Learning Gap in the Classroom

Teachers play a critical–yet often unrecognized–role in shaping expectations around summer learning. Some researchers describe teachers as “information brokers” who help parents shape their goals for summer learning and also identify resources in their community that can facilitate summer learning.

While summer learning loss may be new to many of us, it is not news to teachers who struggle with the effects at the start of each school year. In a 2013 survey of 500 teachers by the National Summer Learning Association:

• Nearly 66 percent reported needing to devote 3-4 weeks to reviewing or re-teaching the same material at the beginning of the school year that their students had learned the previous spring.
• Another 24 percent reported spending five weeks or more backtracking before deciding it was safe to proceed to new terrain.

This means that during a 40-week academic calendar, teachers have to spend more than 10 percent of it pulling their students back up to where they had been before summer slide.

The Ripple Effect of Summer Learning Loss

In most states and districts, schools have been judged on test scores under the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Because these tests are administered once a year, school year gains are mixed in with summer losses. Take the example of a student who gains 100 points during the school year but then loses 30 points during the summer. If the accountability system requires the student to gain 80 points but the net result after summer learning loss is only 70 points, then the student is categorized as underperforming. If there are too many students in this situation, the school is put on a watch list.

In other words, achievement gains made during the school year by both students and schools are undercut by losses that occur during the summer.

Helping Students Stay Engaged

As with many aspects of education and even childrearing, it takes a village.  Here are some tips for mentors, teachers and parents to keep students engaged during the summer months:

• Explore home and community resources that might be available during the summer.
• Make sure every child has a library card and consider transportation options to and from the local public library.
• Encourage the school’s library to open during the summer months. Even if it is just for a few hours a day once a week, this allows kids to walk to their neighborhood school to get books on a regular basis.
• Many schools subscribe to online learning programs during the school year. Programs like IXL, First in Math, Bedtime Math, RAZ Readers, and many more. These subscriptions are often 12 months long but teachers and parents are frequently unaware that they are available during the summer. Check to see if online learning programs are available during the summer and, if so, make sure students know about it.
• Give reading lists. Some schools have parents sign “Summer Reading Contracts” to commit to supporting summer reading.
• Use data to track summer learning at the school level or more simply with a reading log from their public library to keep track of the time spent reading during the summer.

Matthew Boulay is the founder of the National Summer Learning Association and the author of “Summers Matter: Ten Things Every Parent, Teacher and Principal Needs to Know About June, July, and August.”

The Benefits and Evolution of Volunteering

40,000. This is the number of hours Spark mentors will volunteer this year to help 1,000 students stay engaged and on track. It’s nearly the equivalent of five years of volunteer time!

It’s astounding. And there’s no shortage of gratitude here at Spark for the terrific mentors who bring our program to life.

This month Spark joins Points of Light and others in “celebrating service” during National Volunteer Month. It’s a time to recognize the millions of Americans who give their time and talent to help others. It’s also a time to highlight the meaningful impact giving back has on the volunteers themselves, and the growth in community service nationwide.

Good for Others, Good for You
We often showcase the benefits Spark’s workplace-based mentoring program brings to students in the middle grades. But, did you know mentors also benefit from volunteering?

• 73% of Spark mentors have an increased motivation and appreciation for their job
• 74% of Spark mentors believe that participating in the program has challenged them and helped them to develop new skills such as communication, leadership and collaboration
• 82% of Spark mentors feel closer to their community after participating in Spark

And if these weren't enough, research indicates that those who volunteer are healthier and more likely to live longer!

The Next Generation of Volunteers
These benefits, when coupled with other initiatives including workplace-based community service, are helping to change the culture of volunteering. This year marks the seventh anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which expands national service programs and is linked to increased volunteerism in the US.

Mr. Kennedy would be proud to know that the nation’s commitment to service appears to continue its upward trajectory as the next generation demonstrates significant enthusiasm for volunteering. Research shows Millennials are overwhelmingly opting to donate their time and personal skills. This is good news for service and good news for Spark. Only 30% of surveyed Millennial employees did not volunteer in 2014. A closer look at Spark mentors reinforces this point of engagement with 67% of our volunteer mentors ranging in age from 25 to 35.

In addition, the advent of more workplace-based community engagement efforts like Deloitte’s Impact Day is successfully increasing the service component of corporate engagement and philanthropy.

The Work Goes On
“The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.”

Indeed this famous quote from Edward M. Kennedy still rings true today. This is the time to acknowledge “the work” does not go on without the tremendous volunteers Spark and many other organizations are grateful to engage. When businesses encourage, generations embrace and adults recognize their responsibility for volunteering, many more social challenges become solvable.

Celebrating 10 years of apprenticeships and planning for many more

Throughout my time with Spark - first as a supporter and donor, and now as CEO and a

former mentor - it has been a truly amazing experience to watch Spark grow. Since its establishment in 2004 and its first program launch in 2005, Spark has demonstrated a trend of progress and growth to reach more students, engage more mentors and partner with more schools and companies nationwide. 

We began with a partnership with one school; we paired 11 students with mentors in Redwood City, CA. Today, we are partnered with nearly 30 schools. We are serving more than 1,000 students this year – our largest annual student cohort ever – which means we will have reached more than 4,500 students cumulatively by the end of our tenth year.

This service is only possible with the support of donors and funders who believe in Spark’s impact and value.  In 2005, Spark received its first gift of $10,000 from the Peninsula Community Foundation (now known as the Silicon Valley Community Foundation). In 2008, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation provided us with $300,000 to engage in our early development phase. And from 2007 to today, the Peery Foundation, Spark’s largest historical funder, provided $750,000, which was fundamental to our replicating across four major metropolitan regions.

To date, Spark has exceeded $3.5 million in funds raised from many great individual, foundation and corporate supporters. That momentum has lead to Spark most recently being awarded a slate of new and big funding commitments over the last 18 months from notable national funders, including $1.2 million from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to support the development and launch of our alumni programming that supports our students transition into high school; $650,000 from the Brin-Wojcicki Foundation for capacity-building, strategic planning and local program implementation; $240,000 from the All Points North Foundation for public policy work and our Spark Online Institute for teachers; and $100,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation for general operating support.

In just 10 years, we have not only grown, we have improved by tailoring our program to the needs of students and educators in the middle grades, as well as mentors. The institution of “Spark Skills” like teamwork, time management and goal setting helps students build capacities for success.  The development of Spark Online provides on-demand resources and training to mentors and educators. Data-sharing partnerships with school districts mean we can accurately measure our short- and long-term impact. Yet, I believe we have barely scratched the surface of what Spark can do for the thousands of students who can benefit from caring mentors, workplace apprenticeships and targeted skill-building.

This is only the beginning. While we expand our reach to record-setting numbers, this year we are also embarking on our next organizational strategic plan, mapping growth along with quality and sustainability. We imagine a time when mentoring and career exposure are part of the middle school experience for all students - so that young adults like Jonathan continue to feel that they get a, “head start in life.” And working professionals like Bruce continue to have the opportunity to give back during the workday and report that mentoring with Spark is, “one of the most enjoyable projects I've done in recent memory.”

Though these ideas are inspiring and motivating, we remember now - after 10 years of pairing students with mentors in engaging apprenticeships - that the work spearheaded by Spark’s talented staff everyday is all about helping today’s youth prepare for successful futures. 

Thank you for your support, and I’ll be eager for us together to continue this journey with Spark!