Welcome to Breakfast �and Breakthroughs!
�Enjoy breakfast and take our quiz!
Table Chat: Meet Your Neighbors!
WELCOME TO BREAKFAST AND BREAKTHROUGHS
Linktr.ee to Breakfast and Breakthroughs quiz
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Your Breakfast Hosts
Nancy Gannon, FHI 360 DSLN Project Director
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Bryan Joffe, AASA�Director, Children’s Programs
Giulia Cox, FHI 360�DSLN PD Lead
WELCOME TO BREAKFAST AND BREAKTHROUGHS
Agenda
WELCOME TO BREAKFAST AND BREAKTHROUGHS
Grounding In Purpose: Leave this breakfast with a breakthrough!
�At least one new evidence-based priority for summer 2026 and some ideas for how to get there.
Meeting Norms
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The Team
FHI 360 is a global, nonprofit human development organization that works with both governmental agencies and the private sector to support change and improve lives by working across multiple public sector areas including education, health, climate change, and workforce development.
AASA is the premier association for school system leaders and serves as the national voice for public education and district leadership on Capitol Hill. AASA was a coordinating partner for the US Department of Education’s Engage Every Student initiative.
What is DSLN?
ABOUT DSLN
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Shifting the summer learning paradigm to better serve children and youth
How did we do with the quiz?
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1. Summer programs that show strong student results typically begin planning in March.
FALSE.
Studies show that the programs with the best outcomes begin as early as September, and no later than January.
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What it looks like |
In the fall, build a multidisciplinary team responsible for your impactful, evidence-based summer. |
In the winter, communicate key info with the staff, students, families, and partners whose engagement you need to succeed. |
In the spring, prepare your people. Help them own their roles and goals, program plans, and intended outcomes. |
RESEARCH QUIZ REVIEW
2. Programs with fewer than 5 weeks of programming don’t demonstrate academic benefits on average.
TRUE.
The evidence shows that 25 hours of math and 34 hours of reading, over 5-6 weeks and protected from interruptions, are needed to lift future assessments.
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What it looks like |
In the fall, gather data to estimate student learning needs based on prior years. Sharpen 3-year budget. |
In the winter, recruit your strongest teachers. Consider integrating summer learning work with professional learning and advancement. |
In the spring, communicate to ensure that students, families, leaders and staff understand the importance of full participation in academic learning. |
RESEARCH QUIZ REVIEW
3. Student recruitment practices predict program attendance rate.
TRUE.
The Districts that recruit early for specific program dates and times, on a voluntary basis, and personalize outreach have better student attendance.
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What it looks like |
In the fall, educate the district community about potential program benefits. Share relevant data. |
In the winter, conduct personalized outreach to families. Emphasize participation benefits and attractive features of the design. Learn about barriers. |
In the spring, confirm enrollment and emphasize strong attendance. Resolve barriers. |
RESEARCH QUIZ REVIEW
4. Programs that staff teachers “first-applied first-hired” typically achieve about the same as those who use a strategic recruitment and selection process.
FALSE.
Districts do better when they recruit and hire their strongest teachers who also have certification and experience in the grades and subjects they are assigned to teach in the summer.
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What it looks like |
In the fall, engage teacher leaders to identify promising strategies to attract strong staff. |
In the winter, begin staff recruitment. Share information about dates, total compensation, and professional learning and leadership opportunities. |
In the spring, provide the training and support teachers need to understand roles, goals, and resources. |
RESEARCH QUIZ REVIEW
5. Districts should encourage teachers to design an engaging summer curriculum for their classes.
FALSE.
High quality instructional materials matter! Programs that use validated instructional design and assessments in smaller groups get better results.
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What it looks like |
In the fall, analyze achievement data horizontally and vertically to identify grade-by-grade summer learning priorities. |
In the winter, be ready to let teachers know about the instructional big picture for the summer. Find teacher leaders who can support sites as needed. |
By the spring, organize baseline data for summer students and know how you’ll measure growth. |
RESEARCH QUIZ REVIEW
6. Voluntary programs that plan for academic acceleration and enrichment generally outperform mandated remediation programs.
TRUE.
Voluntary programs that include enrichment and accelerate learning towards grade level standards have better attendance and outcomes than mandated programs that offer only remedial instruction.
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What it looks like |
In the fall, explore partnerships. Who can offer free and low-cost enrichment to enhance academics over the next three years? |
In the winter, finalize partnership commitments. From guests to trips to electives, what enrichment can your students experience? |
In the spring, celebrate voluntary learning in the summer. Nobody wants to be bored come summer! |
RESEARCH QUIZ REVIEW
7. Programs that engage families throughout the summer in full, voluntary program attendance do better.
TRUE.
Programs that have a plan to establish, support and maintain high expectations and communication for summer attendance outperform those that don’t.
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What it looks like |
In the fall, design your approach to family communications and outreach that will happen before and during the summer. |
In the winter, make family engagement responsibilities a clear part of summer job descriptions and schedules. |
In the spring, ensure you can track attendance accurately to plan for outcomes reporting and continuous improvement. |
RESEARCH QUIZ REVIEW
8. Full-day program affordability can be dramatically improved through partnerships and strategies for accurately predicting actual class size.
TRUE.
Programs with externally funded municipal, community-based, or other local partners can share costs to reduce outlay. Staffing for historical program attendance rather than registration rates also controls staff costs.
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What it looks like |
In the fall, use historical data to identify the scope of summer learning needs. What funding approaches will empower you to meet those needs? |
In the winter, recruit and secure partner support for summer learning offerings. |
In the spring, use registration data to predict attendance based on historical pattens and hire for attendance, not total enrollment. |
RESEARCH QUIZ REVIEW
Make time for summer!
Is DSLN the right growth opportunity for your district’s summer learning leaders?
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DSLN Key Features
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The DSLN Roadmap helps you to plan strategically with the evidence base in mind.
PLANNING WITH EVIDENCE IN MIND
Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 2nd Ed. The National Summer Learning Project. RAND (2018).
DSLN Program Structures
DSLN SUPPORT FOR TRANSFORMING SUMMER LEARNING
DSLN HUB and
LINKED IN GROUP
One-stop platform for resources, tools, videos, and research
On demand 24-7
SMALL GROUP TUTORIALS
Optional Small Group meetings to go deep in an area of planning
3 each month, 15 total (Nov-March)
NETWORK-WIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Provides research, examples, and opportunities to learn from and collaborate with colleagues
1x/month (Nov-March)
DSLN COACH
An experienced education leader and coach who works directly with a district on transformation
�By paid subscription
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Table Discussions
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What would it take?
TABLE DISCUSSIONS: Priority
What do you hope a summer breakthrough would look like in your district?
�What would it take to get there?
Share takeaways
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If you identified a breakthrough, share it with the group!
Want More From DSLN?
DEBRIEF
Recommended Reports and Briefs
National Summer Learning Project (NASP) RAND Corporation’s longitudinal multiyear study across 5 urban districts
Learning Policy Institute’s 2025 Report: How States Are Expanding Quality Summer Learning Opportunities
Ed Research for Action’s Best Practices for Data Collection in Summer Programs
Bridging the Summer Gap: What District Leaders Say About Learning Beyond the School Year from AASA and NSLA
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