The National Summer School Initiative (NSSI)

Are we missing an untapped opportunity for teacher growth? With professional learning time shrinking, districts that tap into summer school as a platform for teacher development see big gains in Tier 1 instruction and teacher growth—a missed opportunity for those who don’t. Join us for a thought-provoking webinar, “Leveraging Summer School to Improve Tier 1 Instruction: Job-Embedded Teacher Growth,” where leaders from Crescent City Schools and NSSI will share actionable strategies for using summer school to: ? Develop teachers’ instructional skills ? Create coherence with enduring teaching practices ? Provide the tools and support teachers need to thrive Hear from these education changemakers: ?? Kate Mehok, Co-Founder & CEO, Crescent City Schools ?? Gwendolyn Jones, Team Leader, Crescent City Schools ?? Nancy Livingston, MBA, CEO, NSSI ?? Keri Hubbard, Chief of Programs, NSSI Key takeaways include: ?? Focus on a few core instructional areas for maximum impact. ?? Build teacher confidence with targeted curriculum and supportive professional learning. ?? Learn best practices you can replicate in your own district or school. ?? When: Monday, February 10, 2025 | 1:00 PM EST ?? Where: Online (EdWebinar) https://lnkd.in/gTpGbs6M Let’s rethink summer school as a driver of student and teacher success. Reserve your spot now ?? https://lnkd.in/gTpGbs6M #EdLeaders #K12Education #ProfessionalDevelopment

Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong from Portland Public Schools dropped a few gems during her #NCE2025 panel yesterday. I thought this comment was refreshing (inexact quotation): “There needs to be some unpacking on what it means to belong. We believe it means to thrive academically, with full access to the core program. I can’t imagine a student who is not reading at grade level feeling like they belong in a classroom." I come from a youth development background. Belonging, safety, and the importance of relationship building are among the central components of the framework.?What's not to love? In the context of summer learning, youth development advocates work hard to create super engaging, project-based opportunities that feel like summer camp. Millions of public school kids look forward to these programs every summer—often delivered free through their local districts. You might hear youth development folks argue for summer programs that just "let kids be kids." They sometimes argue that summer should be fun and we shouldn't punish just the kids who struggle in school with more schooling in summer. They argue that kids deserve the same engaging enrichment opportunities that higher-income families gladly pay for their children to attend. Rich?kids aren't doing math in summer—they're on the ropes course! But what if kids can't read? Or master the math foundations required to succeed in the next grade? You can't ropes course your way out of an academic problem. It requires engaging academics grounded in a high-quality curriculum delivered by dynamic, well-trained teachers. The good news is that we know kids need both positive enrichment AND 90 minutes a day in both ELA and math instruction in order to make academic gains. RAND's random control trial affirms this (see summary in comment.) Still, these two 'camps' are often polarized, and because resources are scarce, they often undermine each other. And sadly, too many districts have to choose one over the other. #AASA

Real growth happens when feedback is immediate. Gwendolyn Jones, Director of Curriculum & Instruction at Crescent City Schools, saw firsthand how real-time coaching in summer school transformed both teachers and students. Instead of waiting weeks for feedback, teachers received instant coaching and applied it the very next day. The impact? ? Teachers actively sought out feedback because they knew it was making them better. ? Coaching cycles moved faster, accelerating teacher growth. ? Students were more engaged, knowing each day brought something new. Watch as Gwendolyn shares how this feedback-driven model changed the game.?? #K12Education #EdLeaders

"Our approach is mainly to put forward a really positive and engaging experience for students. We want them to enjoy the stories, to love the experience of reading them, and to be able to talk and think about some really important ideas." On #NationalReadAcrossAmericaDay, NSSI's Senior Director of ELA, Ellie Bridges talks about NSSI's approach to get students (and their teachers) to love what they're reading in our summer program. In the comments, let us know which books you or your students are reading right now! #ReadAcrossAmerica #SummerReading #LiteracyMatters

Summer school isn’t just for students—it’s a game-changer for teachers. Most districts miss this opportunity. Here’s how to get it right. Crescent City Schools reimagined summer learning and saw huge gains in teacher development and instructional quality. Their approach? ? Real-time coaching – Teachers received immediate feedback, refining their skills in a supportive, low-stakes environment. ? Targeted skill-building – Instead of overwhelming teachers with all the things they can do to be great teachers, they focus on mastering one high-impact skill at a time. ? Curriculum alignment – Summer instruction mirrored the school-year curriculum, strengthening consistency for students and coherence for teachers. ? Talent development – Paraprofessionals gained hands-on experience, leading many to transition into full-time teaching roles. The result? Teachers entered the school year stronger, instruction improved, and students thrived. Don’t let summer be an afterthought. Read how districts can turn it into an incubator of teacher best practice. ?? #EducationLeaders #ProfessionalDevelopment

?? “NSSI laid out a framework for teachers to keep up the rigor with scholars no matter if they were at grade level or two grade levels behind—and my teachers carried those skills and strategies into the school year with them.”? —Gwendolyn Jones, school leader, Crescent City Schools At Crescent City Schools in New Orleans, summer is an opportunity to train, support, and empower teachers—not just fill learning gaps. In our recent webinar, Kate Mehok and Gwendolyn Jones, leaders from Crescent City Schools, joined NSSI's Nancy Livingston, MBA and Keri Hubbard to discuss how they’re using summer to build key instructional practices that strengthen Tier 1 instruction during the school year. ?? If you weren't able to tune in, don’t worry—you can view the full recording of the session here: https://lnkd.in/gTpGbs6M

??Meet Robert Hawke, NSSI’s Senior Director of Math. Robert has been a math teacher, curriculum designer, instructional coach, professional learning expert facilitator, founding principal, and district leader. We sat down with Robert for a quick Q & A to get his thoughts on some of the big questions facing math educators today and learn about his approach to making math instruction more impactful for all students. ??? Read a preview below and the full-length interview in our latest newsletter—stay tuned until the end for a surprise bonus question (hint: NSSI’s math curriculum isn’t the only “recipe for success” Robert has written! ????) Newsletter link ?? https://lnkd.in/e8JXndhE ?? NSSI: You're always thinking about math, math philosophy, and pedagogy, and even the politics of math education. What is the one math idea that is on your mind right now? ??RH: A lot of our disagreement about how to teach math comes from a lack of consensus about what we mean by “math.” If you ask 100 people what it means to be good at math, there is a group of people who think of an accountant adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers in their head, and there’s another group who thinks of a university professor filling a chalkboard with Greek letters, symbols, diagrams, and arrows, asking students to figure out how many faces are on a seven-dimensional cuboid. You can see this tension in the standards themselves, and the result is that most people - at the national, state, district, school, and classroom level - pick the parts of the standards that align with their own personal beliefs or experiences and tend to ignore the parts that don’t resonate as much with them. That’s how we end up with 9th graders who don’t know their times tables, and it’s also how we end up with kids who are really quick with numbers but who struggle to apply what they have learned to rigorous tests or to the real world. The truth is, you can’t have creative mathematical thought without some level of underlying knowledge, and a lot of underlying knowledge won’t get you very far if you don’t have practice applying this knowledge to novel situations.? #SummerSchool #SummerLearning #ProfessionalDevelopment #Education

??Today at 1:00 PM EST! Looking for actionable strategies to drive student and teacher success this summer? Don’t miss your chance! Join us today for our webinar, “Leveraging Summer School to Improve Tier 1 Instruction: Job-Embedded Teacher Growth,” where NSSI CEO Nancy Livingston, MBA will be joined by leaders from Crescent City Schools in New Orleans to discuss how they’re using summer to build key instructional practices that strengthen Tier 1 instruction year-round. Key takeaways include: ? Focus on a few core instructional areas for maximum impact. ? Build teacher confidence with targeted curriculum and supportive professional learning. ? Learn best practices you can replicate in your own district or school. ??Follow the link to join live or receive the recording ?? https://lnkd.in/gTpGbs6M #EdLeadership #K12Education #EdTech

"My favorite thing about NSSI are their daily lesson plans. It's low-lift planning for me as a teacher and I have a ton of resources provided for me. So I gave NSSI two thumbs up." - Alma Garcia, Teacher, Alliance Public Schools, Los Angeles When district leaders kick the tires on NSSI, they are often concerned about their teachers’ experiences – the program has to be easy to implement. Teachers need to return in fall feeling energized, not angry with leadership for dragging them into a messy assignment that depletes them. Alma's positive feedback about their experience with NSSI speaks to any teacher on the fence about taking the plunge and committing five weeks of their summer to leading our program at their school sites. #SummerSchool #SummerLearning #ProfessionalDevelopment #Education

NAEP?data is in, and Louisiana’s model is making waves. How can summer play a bigger role in teacher development? On Monday, February 10, NSSI CEO Nancy Livingston, MBA will be joined by leaders from Crescent City Schools in New Orleans to discuss how they’re using summer to build key instructional practices that strengthen Tier 1 instruction during the school year. With?NAEP?results sparking big conversations—especially around Louisiana’s approach—this webinar comes at the perfect time for academic and talent leaders looking for actionable strategies. ?? Learn how summer school can train, support, and empower teachers—not just fill learning gaps. ??? RSVP now to join live or receive the recording:? https://lnkd.in/gTpGbs6M Hope to see you there. #EdLeadership #K12Education #EdTech