New Vision for Summer School

The New Vision for Summer School Network (NVSS Network) includes more than 50 school districts and national partners. The Network of school districts is committed to summer learning that engages more children and youth, boosts academic achievement and supports teaching and learning throughout the school year.

These districts are working to close the opportunity gap to ensure that all young people have access to high-quality summer learning to help them succeed in college, career and life.

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School Districts

Albuquerque Public Schools Atlanta Public Schools Austin Independent School District
Baltimore City Public Schools Birmingham City Schools Boston Public Schools
Calexico Unified School District Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Chesterfield County Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools Cincinnati Public Schools Cloverdale Unified School District
Consolidated School District of New Britain Council Bluffs Community Schools Dallas Independent School District
DeSoto Independent School District District of Columbia Public Schools Duval County Public Schools
Fairfax County Public Schools Ferndale Public Schools Fresno Unified School District
Glenn County Office of Education Grand Rapids Public Schools Greenville City Schools
Hillsborough Public School District Houston Independent School District Los Angeles Unified School District
Milwaukee Public Schools Minneapolis Public Schools Minnesota Department of Education
New York City Department of Education Newark Public Schools Oakland Unified School District
School District of Philadelphia Pittsburgh Public Schools Racine Unified School District
Rochester City School District Sacramento City Unified School District Saint Paul Public Schools
San Bernardino County Schools San Francisco Unified School District Seattle Public Schools
Sonoma Valley School District Spokane Public Schools Tacoma Public Schools
Toledo Public Schools Tuscaloosa City Schools Wausau Public Schools
Vancouver Public Schools Visalia Unified School District

Partners

For information about the NVSS Network, please contact nvss@summerlearning.org.

Partner Spotlight | DREAM

DREAM is a 27-year-old community-based youth development organization that serves more than 2,200 young people each year. Its mission is to provide inner-city youth with opportunities to Play, Learn, and Grow. We use the power of teams to coach, teach, and inspire youth to recognize their potential and realize their dreams. We are dedicated to serving low-income youth, providing quality educational and enrichment supports, and exposing them to college and career options that have allowed their more affluent peers to thrive.

REAL Kids is DREAM’s longest running program that has received national recognition for its impact on summer learning loss. REAL Kids is a free, six-week summer program for DREAM youth in the South Bronx, East Harlem, and Newark. In REAL Kids, youth in grades K-5 spend their summer on a baseball or softball team and participate in literacy enrichment and team-building activities to develop academic, social, and emotional skills in a fun learning environment. All program components are integrated to create a meaningful summer experience that engages youth in learning academic skills and building life-long habits. In 2017, REAL Kids served 746 youth across our three sites, and over 99% of participants successfully maintained or improved their literacy levels. Given the dismal summer literacy statistics for youth across the country, we are particularly proud of our work, year over year, to eliminate summer slide.

Participants’ days are filled with a holistic set of services that incorporate multiple pathways to learning. In the morning, they are in the classroom receiving academic literacy enrichment to avoid summer learning loss, as well as social emotional learning opportunities to build social skills and self-confidence. Academic activities, such as literacy centers and guided reading are enhanced by the use of technology including SMART Boards and Chromebooks. Children are not only engaged, but learning is made fun for them. Afternoons are spent on the baseball field where participants learn the fundamentals of the game and play T-ball, baseball, or softball with DREAM’s experienced coaches.

One of the unique program components of REAL Kids is that high school participants in grades 9-11 at DREAM work as REAL Kids’ assistant coaches and assistant teachers all summer long. The program employs 100 youth with paid part-time summer position, giving them real-world experience in applying for and succeeding in a job.

Summer programming ends with a very successful culminating event, an exhibition day, that brings out families to observe student work and then watch team performances and videos that capture the REAL Kids summer youth experience.

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