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Summer school is often seen as a place where students receive needed support outside of regular school, but it can be much more than that—it presents an untapped opportunity for teacher growth.

During the edLeader Panel “Leveraging Summer School to Improve Tier 1 Instruction: Job-Embedded Teacher Growth,” Keri Hubbard, Chief of Programs at NSSI, spoke with Kate Mehok, Co-founder and CEO of Crescent City Schools in New Orleans, Gwendolyn Jones, Director of Curriculum & Instruction at Crescent City Schools, and Nancy Livingston, CEO of NSSI, about how summer school can give teachers opportunities to grow, develop, and prepare for the coming school year.

Summer School—An Untapped Opportunity

Summer school provides teachers the opportunity to become stronger and prepare for the academic year. While the summer period isn’t long, it allows time for professional development and coaching, as well as time to reflect on the previous school year. Teachers need time to practice teaching curricula, especially high-level curricula.

Partners, such as the nonprofit The National Summer School Initiative (NSSI), allow teachers to practice with and receive quick, in-the-moment feedback from mentors. Nonstop feedback and opportunities to improve are crucial to making the most of limited time in the summer. Teachers spend a few minutes each day practicing different parts of the curriculum, which is broken down to focus on one step at a time.

To ensure that the practice is done deliberately, they should come with everything they would need if they were actually teaching in the classroom. This means that they need to be given prep time and told what’s being looked for and what to focus on. Feedback should be specific so they can quickly see what they’re doing right or what they need to practice more.

When teaching summer school, teachers need curriculum resources similar to those used during the school year to ensure that instructional priorities are reinforced. The material should be taught similarly, with trackable progress, where students know what to expect. The overall goal is to help students prepare for the new year and help teachers practice the skills they’ll need for the first unit of the year.

The Challenges

Sometimes, summer school teachers aren’t the most experienced, and the students may be asked questions at grade level that they struggle with. Summer school gives those teachers a chance to develop skills in that area and learn scaffolding techniques to help students in need of more support. Introducing students to grade-level material is crucial, and low-cost programs like NSSI give teachers frameworks they can use to do this.

Another big challenge is teacher recruitment. It can be difficult, but clear communication around the opportunities for professional development, what exactly goes on in summer school, and that they’ll have what they need to succeed can encourage them to want to be involved. Don’t forget about current summer school teachers—building positive relationships with them will make them want to return.

Remember to be open to teacher feedback and find out what skills they want to develop. And, rather than expecting teachers to write their own curricula, find a partner who can provide the content. You can also look for other staff members interested in classroom teaching and use summer school to give them opportunities. Summer school can help teachers and students alike become their best selves—all they need is the right tools.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, Leveraging Summer School to Improve Tier 1 Instruction: Job-Embedded Teacher Growth, sponsored by The National Summer School Initiative (NSSI).

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NSSI is a nonprofit that accelerates learning and deepens teacher practice through joyful, academically rigorous summer programs.

Article by Jon Scanlon, based on this edLeader Panel