June 20, 2018

Many site coordinators describe feeling frantic as they wrap up the school year and sprint into summer trying to get things ready at the last minute. Sound familiar? Y4Y can help: Over the past two years, 40 programs across seven states have engaged in structured planning to increase the quality and intentional design of their summer programs and end the summer sprint. Now, you can use their process and learn from practitioners like you across the nation.

The Summer Learning Initiative section of the Y4Y website presents a seven-step process for planning a high-quality summer program. Starting the September before, you will follow a path that begins with building your program team and concludes with reflecting on successes and ways to continuously improve. And, believe it or not, the planning process will have you completely ready for summer before the school year ends!

You can start by downloading a comprehensive Program Implementation Planner to support your planning process. The planner will keep you organized and on schedule while helping you capture important details. It’s also useful for orienting new program leaders, and for getting a head start on planning future summer learning. (Try using it in Google Sheets to achieve a truly collaborative team experience.) As you scroll down the page with the Planner, look for the helpful Sample Planner and and the User Guide, and listen to a podcast that will walk you through the planner tab by tab.

Y4Y’s Summer Learning Initiative section describes each planning step in detail, offers downloadable tools and resources, and provides engaging videos to give you a peek into the experiences and programs of the participating sites. If you missed the Summer Learning Series of webinars, you can access the recordings to help launch your planning. To avoid the dreaded last-minute sprint, start now, and you’ll spring into next summer feeling stress-free and ready for a season chock full of exciting learning!

Seven Steps to a High-Quality Summer Program

1. Build Your Planning Team
2. Conduct a Needs Assessment
3. Set SMART Goals
4. Plan Your Logistics
5. Intentionally Design Activities
6. Intentionally Recruit Students
7. Continuously Improve Your Program

June 20, 2018

Do you wake up each morning with a new brilliant idea for your program? That’s wonderful! But when was the last time you encouraged your program team to bring their ideas to the table? Try these strategies to bolster professional learning this fall, and you’ll set the stage for teamwork and creativity.

1. The spontaneous yes. The next time you hear a team member introduce a good idea with “I wish…” or “If only…,” respond with an enthusiastic “Yes! Terrific idea!” Follow up by asking them to start thinking of ways to make it happen. Offer to put the idea on the agenda for a future team meeting so they can get input from others and develop the idea further. Your encouragement and support might be just the push they need to get the ball rolling.
2. Virtual brainstorming. These sessions often start in real time during team meetings and move to a virtual (online) space with a "ticking clock" deadline (usually 1 to 5 days). This approach gets even the most shy or reluctant team member to participate. Team members can add to one another's ideas during the virtual brainstorming session but refrain from evaluating or criticizing ideas. No decisions are made until after the deadline.
3. The “what if” game. Invite your team to reflect on this question: “If money and resources were not an issue, what program practice would you add, change or get rid of, and why do you think it would make a positive difference?” Once everyone’s ideas are on the table, challenge the team to “think outside the box” about possible ways to make their best ideas come true. (You could use the “virtual brainstorming” process to play this game.) 

June 20, 2018

You developed a high-quality summer learning program for your students and worked with your staff to design a continuous improvement process. Now, how do you ensure the plan is being implemented with fidelity (in other words, implemented as planned)? The Y4Y Summer Learning course tools and resources can help you monitor to stay on track.

Observations

Use Y4Y’s Observation Checklist to observe academic and enrichment activities. Are you doing what you said you would do? If you planned on a student-to-teacher ratio of 10 to 1 but ended up at 18 to 1, this difference is likely to impact your outcomes. Observations are one way to track important areas of implementation so you can make modifications along the way, assess outcomes and plan for future programming. Make sure to visit all the activities, spread observations across the summer, and observe transition and dismissal times.

Feedback

Students and families are your “customers” and you want to know how well your program meets their needs. Surveys are effective and easy ways to find out. The Y4Y Summer Learning course has sample surveys for families and students that you can customize to your program. Administer them in person or online through Google Forms, which collects your feedback into a spreadsheet. Be sure to schedule time with your program team to discuss the results and follow-up action steps. Feedback is only valuable if it leads to action.

Continuous Improvement

If you used the Y4Y Summer Learning course, you have already developed a continuous improvement plan. If not, download the Continuous Improvement Process Diagram and Continuous Improvement Planner to get started. The Continuous Improvement Planner helps to keep you on track with goals and outcomes. As you complete each data collection window, analyze your data and record outcomes. Take time to discuss why you met or fell short of your goals (or exceeded them!) and consider implications for the coming school-year program.

Celebration

Many programs plan a culminating event to showcase summer activities and student achievements. With students and staff, plan a fun event that will engage families while giving students a chance to show off their learning and express themselves. You might add a reflection element such as an open discussion about what worked well and what could be tweaked in the future. Review results from your observations and stakeholder surveys, and discuss your continuous improvement plan. Celebrating with your students and staff is the perfect way to wrap up an amazing summer.