A Summer Like No Other: Lessons from the Field During COVID-19

NSLA conducted a number of focus groups and in-depth interviews in September 2020 with 21 summer learning leaders representing 15 national award-winning summer learning programs. Our goal was to provide qualitative context to complement survey data from the Afterschool Alliance’s report: Preparing for Back to School and Navigating Summer in the Time of COVID-19. NSLA set out to better understand the youth experience during the summer of 2020, lessons learned and ways NSLA can best support the out-of-school time field in the wake of the current events.

Providers made it through the summer, mostly providing virtual programming. While there were definitely silver linings, the summer overall was the type of challenge you don’t want to face more than once in life. A lot of providers’ success was attributed to the unprecedented generosity of stakeholders, above-and-beyond leadership, and tireless commitment of frontline staff. The conflating issues of increasing unemployment, structural racism, and civil unrest were mentioned by most interviewees.

There was no consensus or tangible ideas on how to alleviate these challenges for all young people, but there was a strong acknowledgment that previous stress and trauma are highly exacerbated by the financial insecurity and safety concerns resulting from COVID-19 and by the hyper-focused inequities spotlighted by current social justice movements.

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