With coordination across multiple mayoral and school administrations, Boston After School and Beyond nurtured and grew what is now known as the “Fifth Quarter,” solving all sides of the summer program problem. It bundles funding from federal, state, city, and private philanthropic sources. Through research and data agreements, it ensures programs with the city’s seal of approval meet field standards and goals. And it attempts to end the annual parent scramble to find available slots by operating a user-friendly website of programs searchable by age, type, and cost (many are free).

How — and why — did the city rapidly create a national model for summer school?

First, the vast majority of children in Boston have caregivers who all have jobs. Summer programming is not a nice-to-have; it is a necessity for working families. Busy kids mean more parents can remain in the workforce, supporting their families and contributing to the local economy.

Summer enrichment provides more than just child care. Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 book “Outliers” popularized a term educators long had intuited: “summer slide,” the decline of academic skills while children were on summer break. With a 1980s Baltimore study as the touchstone, the lagging achievement of low-income students, students of color, and other historically marginalized students was pinned on missing out on the academic enrichment, camps, or travel during the summer that their higher-income peers benefit from. A recent Gallup survey revealed that higher-income families are twice as likely to enroll their children in summer planning than lower-income families. Closing the summer access gap is a potential path to closing achievement and opportunity gaps.

I have seen this firsthand. In my 15 years as a public school teacher and principal, I ran summer school six times. Although I would describe the initial attitude of the children as one of resignation at best, with those same children I witnessed exceptional academic and social growth. More often than not, I saw that carry into the following school year.

There have been competing studies and data on the consistency and scale of summer learning loss, but the theoretical quickly gave way to the practical needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address children’s stalled academic progress, which disproportionately impacted lower-income students, school districts around the country leveraged federal recovery dollars to add learning time in the summers of 2021, 2022, and 2023. Some school districts made their academic year longer. Many, like Boston, invested millions to expand summer programs with an additional academic focus.

Does it work? Yes. A RAND-administered random control trial, the gold standard in social science, showed that students who regularly attended summer programs outperformed their peers academically.

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The same research indicated those students made greater progress in social and emotional skills.

American schooling is inherently conservative, largely the same in its form, delivery, and calendar for nearly a century. Change is rare, even when something has a clear track record of working. To meet the needs of the families of today and achieve goals of equity, it is reasonable to ask whether summer learning should continue to be an appendage.

Why not incorporate it, and, for all who want or need it, just make “summer school” part of “school?”

Will Austin is founder and CEO of Boston Schools Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to high-quality education in the city.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — College campuses throughout the Pittsburgh area have been very busy as students are moving into their dorms and getting ready for the new school year to start.

Throughout the past week, at places like Pitt, Duquesne, and Carlow universities, it’s an exciting time for students to be on campus. 

University of Pittsburgh

Students at Pitt moved onto campus starting on Sunday as the new school year is ready to get underway. 

Nervous parents and students alike worked to get the kids settled in ahead of classes beginning. 

“Move-in day is going pretty good,” said Lexi Thomas, who was helping her sister move in. “We’ve got buckets galore and our aunt just came in with another basket. We’re getting this girl moved in. She’s excited and we’re excited.

“The drive was a little long,” said Grace Boyer. “We had five hours, but it was worth it. So far, we were able to load most of the car into the cart that we have. It’s all good!” 

Classes start next week. 

Duquesne University

More than 1,700 new students moved onto campus at Duquesne University earlier this week. 

Student orientation leaders said that it’s one of the best days of the school year — but said it can also be pretty stressful, so they do everything they can to make things as easy as possible for new students and their families.

“We try to keep today a little bit chill since it’s so hectic with moving in and things like that,” said Team Leader Sabrina Paules. “Afterwards, they have an ice cream social and s’mores where they can meet new people and talk to everybody.” 

Classes at Duquesne are set to begin on Monday. 

Carlow University

New students at Carlow were welcomed onto campus on Wednesday.

The university has record enrollment numbers this year and President Dr. Kathy Humphrey said that the theme of the new school year is ‘Discovery.’ She added that she’s excited to see where these new students end up. 

“Every year is an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives and in our students’ lives,” Dr. Humphrey said. “We see it every day. When I see these young people walk in, I see them not today, but I see them as they will be in four years. So I am always elated to be a part of our opening celebrations.”

Upperclassmen will begin moving in this weekend and classes are set to begin on Monday. 

West Virginia University 

The three-day process of moving in at West Virginia University started last week.

Some parents and students spoke to KDKA as they were getting ready to start a new chapter in life with the beginning of the new school year.

“It’s a lot of good emotions,” said parent Annie Duchess. “You know, ups and downs. I think it’s gonna be exciting for her. We’ll just take it day by day and see how she does and I hope she makes good choices.”

“They let your parents come help you,” said student Maggie Manson. “I like how they didn’t restrict it and make you do everything by yourselves. I am excited!” 

Classes started yesterday. 

STRATFORD, CT — Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the newly renovated handball and basketball courts on Woodend Road at George Force Park.

“Thank you to our Department of Public Works for bringing this project to fruition,” Mayor Laura Hoydick wrote in a post on Facebook. “We are excited for residents and players to enjoy the renovated space. Thank you to the Connecticut Handball League for your continued support, we wish you the best of luck in upcoming tournaments on the new court.

“Please note Woodend Road will be paved within the next couple of weeks, dependent upon weather. Thank you for your continued patience as we’ve been navigating between extremely hot and very wet weather, which impacts the paving process.”

For photos from the ribbon-cutting ceremony, visit the Facebook post here.