How young people spend their time during the summer months has a proven effect on academic achievement, graduation rates, and preparation for college. The mission of the National Summer Learning Association is to connect and equip schools and community organizations to deliver quality summer learning programs to our nation’s youth to help close the achievement gap. During this webcast you’ll learn about the risks associated with a lack of high-quality summer learning opportunities for youth, find out what makes a quality program, understand the policy context, and hear examples of successful summer program-related graduation outcomes.
Resources:
Afterschool Alliance. (2010).
Doesn’t Every Child Deserve A Memorable Summer? 
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National Summer Learning Association. (2009).
National Summer Learning Association’s New Vision for Summer School. (2010).
NDPC/N Newsletter: A New Vision of Summer Learning – Volume 21, Number 3 . (2010).
(2009). Putting Middle Grades Students on the Graduation Path http://www.nmsa.org/portals/0/pdf/research/Research_from_the_Field/Policy_Brief_Balfanz.pdf. Westerville, OH : National Middle School Association.
Reading Rockets – Summer Reading. (2010).
(2008). Redesigning the Ninth-Grade Experience . Atlanta, GA : Southern Regional Education Board.
References for Webcast – Successful Summers: The Role of High-Quality Summer Learning in High School Completion . (2010).
Research in Brief: Summer Can Set Kids on the Right – or Wrong – Course .
Research Notes on Early Warning and Off-track Indicators of High School Graduation . (2010).
Summer Learning Day is June 21 – host an event!. (2009).
Summer Reading Video. (2010)
(2009). The Summer Flood: The Invisible Gap Among Low-Income Students. NEA Thought & Action , Fall 2009, 23-34.