Sponsored By: IDEA Public Schools

IDEA Public Schools’ Innovative Approach to Tackling Summer Learning Loss

Imagine this:

It’s August. Two students board their familiar buses and head to the first day of school. Last year, these two were always neck-and-neck with grades and conduct marks. They grin at each other when the bell rings, excited to resume their friendly competition.

But something is different. The first student hits her classroom ready to learn, last year’s skills and knowledge intact. The second one has gone from reigning long division champion to forgetting what a fraction is. Which is a problem, because her teacher is currently demonstrating how to add and subtract fractions.

What happened to Student Two is a phenomenon that’s gaining a lot of attention in education. It even has a name: summer learning loss. It’s what happens when a student spends the whole summer away from meaningful educational materials or experiences. Summer learning loss separated Student One and Student Two. And it can happen in just two months.

The impact of summer learning loss is significant. Older students can lose an entire academic year if they spend the summer without cracking a book. Even worse, the effect is cumulative. As school gets harder with each year, summer learning gaps snowball and students fall farther behind.

IDEA Public Schools, the charter school network that includes Austin’s IDEA Allan and IDEA Rundberg, took on summer learning loss this year. They did so with a unique, multi-pronged campaign called SummerBOOST(or, as it’s known to most IDEA student and parents, #IDEASummerBOOST).

Some background: IDEA’s mission as a network is to prepare all students for college success. To that end, they run – successfully, it seems, based on recent results – small, academically rigorous schools with strong college-going cultures.

The architects of SummerBOOST are a mix of administrators, school leaders, and teachers from across IDEA’s three regions. With their powers combined, Team SummerBOOST developed a plan to make summertime learning a rewarding, engaging, and – dare they say it – fun experience for IDEA students.

IDEA SummerBOOST’s central feature was a “Playbook.” The Playbooks were essentially workbooks full of academic activities, but they were also much more. They addressed many of the root causes of summer learning loss. For example, they took the onus off of parents to find and purchase standards-aligned educational materials. They gave students easy-to-follow guidelines for staying sharp over the summer. A clever example of this is the Power Hour, a daily practice period divided into twenty minutes each of reading, writing, and math. Oh, and the Playbooks were available online for download, squashing any “I lost it” excuses.

But SummerBOOST’s real genius was in the marketing. IDEA wisely recognized that when it comes to student investment, school-free summer days are hard to beat (think Barton Springs afternoon vs. vocab review time). So they made SummerBOOST appealing.

First, the Playbooks look and feel like something kids would love to get their hands on. They’re bright, colorful, almost modern looking – definitely more appealing than your standard workbook. Then, IDEA launched a social media campaign across many platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. A hashtag was born (#IDEASummerBOOST) to tie it all together. And the IDEA community – students and parents alike – seemed to be on board. A quick search of the hashtag on Facebook shows a slew of images posted by parents and students, all of them proudly showing off their SummerBOOST work.

This relevant, engaging campaign against summer learning loss sets a strong example. IDEA has demonstrated that students can get excited about maintaining their hard-earned work over the summer. They’ve also modeled strong, year-round partnerships with parents, providing support even when school doors are closed. IDEA’s mission is college success for all students.

SummerBOOST is a strong step in that direction.