The National Summer School Initiative
S umme r 2023 Res ults T H E N AT I O N A L S U M M E R S C H O O L I N I T I AT I V E
Summer 2023 Reflections
A summer of astounding growth. This summer, NSSI joined forces with thousands of like-minded educators to deliver extraordinary learning experiences to more than 48,000 students across the country. From watching partner teachers lead discourse-rich instruction to striking academic gains, the NSSI team reflects on what made Summer 2023 one for the books.
Our partner schools and districts know that summer school can be both tremendously fun and address the profoundly serious learning loss that students are suffering everywhere. We are so excited to team up in summer ’24 with more districts around the country that are iron-willed in their resolve to accelerate learning. — ST E VEN W I LSON CEO
By far the greatest highlight of summer 2023 was getting the opportunity to visit schools and see the NSSI program in action. My hope for summer 2024 is to visit even more schools. I’m excited to work with school leaders, coaches, and administrators to increase the frequency of classroom observations to drive even stronger outcomes for students. — KERI H U BBARD CH I EF OF PRO GR A M
This summer we got better as we got bigger. I consistently saw engaging, rigorous PD that set up teachers to lead engaging, rigorous instruction. The summer was a “win-win” for students and teachers. The data showed striking student growth in a few short weeks, and teachers shared that our PD and support was some of the best they’ve ever received—and that it resulted in them leading more discourse-rich instruction. — D O U G MCCU RRY CH I EF OF PA R T N ERSH I PS
This was my third summer with NSSI, and I continue to be absolutely inspired by the leaders I work with at our partner schools who are doing all that they can to best serve their teachers, students, and families. They are truly the highlight of my work! Looking forward to Summer 2024! — MADDY LE VI N E SEN IOR DI R ECTOR OF OPER AT IONS
Summer 2023 with NSSI was incredible. I loved seeing so many returning partners who emerged as leaders in our sessions. My hope for 2024 is that we are able to reach more teachers to increase their effectiveness and to make more students fall in love with reading great books! — CHERYL KELLE Y- H ENDERSON A SSO CI AT E DI R ECTOR OF EL A
Summer 2023 was my favorite summer yet with NSSI! I’ve said this every year since joining the team in 2021 because it’s true. I continue to be inspired by the hard work of the school leaders, teachers, and students all over the country. I’m excited to continue this work in 2024 to ensure even more students have access to a joyful, academically rigorous summer experience. — J ESSICA WAGNER A SSO CIAT E DI RECTOR OF OPER AT IONS
This summer, I witnessed the amazing work that Mentor Teachers and partner teachers did with our exceptional texts. They brought joyful and engaging reading instruction to students across the country. I’m eager to continue this work as we plan and prepare for summer 2024! — ELLI E BRI D GES DI R ECTOR OF EL A
It has been so rewarding to see students, teachers, and families share how NSSI’s program has positively impacted them. I hope we are able to continue to meet and exceed partner expectations in summer 2024! — ELI Z ABE T H BE U G G MA R KE T I NG A SSO CI AT E
2023 REFLECTIONS
Summer 2023
By the numbers This summer with NSSI, 3,400 teachers and school leaders came together to prepare 48,000 students to thrive in the 2023-24 school year. NSSI welcomed schools and districts from 15 states, with 29 partners, including Fulton County Schools, Ector County ISD, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Seminole County Schools, and New York City Public Schools.
48,0
15 states
29
partners
460
school leaders
3,000
000
teachers
students BY THE NUMBERS
Professional Development
Transformative teacher training Transformative teacher training is at the heart of NSSI’s model. Guided by our extraordinary Mentor Teachers, teachers everywhere honed their craft by watching their Mentors’ moves and making them their own.
“I am teaching this curriculum for the first time, and everything from the lessons, to the overviews, to the PD sessions were all wonderfully and thoroughly thought out and I feel 110% prepared to teach this! — CHERYL PARKER FI F T H - GR A DE MAT H T E ACH ER , A LLIA NCE COLLEGE R E ADY P U BLIC SCHO OLS
“The most helpful professional development I’ve ever experienced.” Designed to equip and inspire. NSSI’s rigorous yet supportive professional development program consists of a three-day pre-service training for teachers, followed by ongoing weekly PD sessions with their Mentors in their grade and subject. NSSI also provides a one-day specialized training for administrators and instructional coaches, as well as ongoing leader development. Teachers and leaders sharpen their skills, practice new strategies to support their students, and learn from one another. Results from 2023 post-training surveys showed:
of adminstrators agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Because of NSSI’s Coach/Administrator Institute, I feel prepared to start coaching this summer.”
of teachers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Because of NSSI’s Teacher Institute, I feel prepared to start teaching this summer.”
of participating administrators and coaches selected a 4 or 5 in response to “On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with summer school pre-service administrator training?”
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPEMENT
Program reactions
Enthusiastic partners
“
This is our third year partnering with NSSI, and I always rave about how much I love the program. I really like the curriculum—the way it is laid out, the training provided to the teachers about how to use it, the slides and worksheets provided. I also really like the weekly PD offered to teachers to help along the way. Most of my teachers who teach summer school end up incorporating what they learn from the NSSI program in the fall. — SHERYL FAYLO G A A DM I N IST R ATOR , A LLI A NCE COLLEGE - R E A DY P U BLIC SCHO OLS
Partners are overwhelmingly satisfied. Following each of NSSI’s three five-week sessions, participating teachers and administrators were asked to provide feedback on program effectiveness. Across sessions, respondents reported they were happy with their summer experience.
of teachers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I am happy that I am teaching summer school in partnership with NSSI.”
of administrators agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I am happy that I am coaching summer school in partnership with NSSI.”
of administrators agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “The curriculum and lesson materials provided by NSSI for teachers are strong.”
Teachers and administrators praise program quality. Partner teachers and administrators had an exceedingly positive perception of their Mentor Teachers and the curriculum that they designed. Stephanie Simpson, a fifth-grade math teacher at Gem Prep, shared:
“
This is my second summer working with NSSI and I have been highly impressed with the quality of the program’s rigor and engagement for both students and teachers. Students are active participants in their learning and teachers have been growing in their skills through the weekly PD sessions offered. So much learning is happening everywhere I look! — ST EPHANIE SIMPSON , FI F T H - GR A DE M AT H T E ACH ER , GEM PREP
PROGRAM REACTIONS
Program reactions
Prepared students, thrilled families.
“Our kids loved going to school
for this program. They call it “fun school” and are excited every day by all that they learn. They bring books home and ask to read with us. It has also been helpful in how they see school generally—not a drag, but a fun place they want to be! We are very grateful that our kids were able to attend! — FO U R T H - GR ADE PAREN T SEM I NOLE CO U N T Y P U BLIC SCHO OLS
Families are enthusiatic about NSSI. 68% of families said they were “very likely” or “extremely likely” to recommend other students attend a summer school that uses NSSI’s programming. Converting these results to the classic measure of customer ardor, the Net Promoter Score (NPS), yields a NPS of 51. The Net Promoter Score asks customers, on a scale of 0-10, the degree to which they would recommend the company or program to others. The score is calculated by identifying the percentage of respondents who are “promoters” (awarding a 9 or 10) and subtracting the percentage who are “detractors” (0-6). Any NPS above 0 is considered good, anything above 20 great, and 40 or more excellent.
Students feel set up for success. Parents consistently observed growth in their children’s academic confidence. 71% of parents agreed or strongly agreed with the following statement: “My child gained more confidence in his or her academic abilities as a result of summer school.” In NSSI’s end-of-program survey, parents reported their children more invested in learning than before the program’s start. Students shared their eagerness to put new skills and strategies to use:
“
The best thing about summer school was that we would revise our work multiple times until we got it right. — EIGH T H - GR ADE ST U DEN T, FOR T E PR EPA R ATORY ACA DEM Y
“
My favorite thing about summer school is that I learned new strategies to correct mistakes I made. — FO U R T H - GR ADE ST U DEN T, SEM I NOLE CO U N T Y P U BLIC SCHO OLS
PROGRAM REACTIONS
Summer 2023
New York City partners with NSSI. After a successful pilot in 2022 with 7,000 students, the largest school system in the country again partnered with NSSI in 2023 to offer a vastly expanded program: 31,000 students across 126 summer sites.
126 sites
1,600 teachers
31,000 students
Ready to go. Responses from participating teachers and administrators to a two-day intensive training before the school doors opened were off the charts. Respondents agreed or strongly agreed that NSSI’s training prepared them for their roles this summer. of participating NYC administrators selected a 4 or 5 in response to “On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with summer school pre-service administrator training?”
of participating NYC adminstrators agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Because of NSSI’s Coach/Administrator Institute, I feel prepared to start my role this summer.”
of participating NYC teachers selected a 4 or 5 in response to “On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with summer school pre-service teacher training?”
of participating NYC teachers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Because of NSSI’s Teacher Institute, I feel prepared to start my role this summer.”
Teachers are thrilled. Feedback from NYC teachers was overwhelmingly positive. In many cases, teachers not only reported satisfaction with the summer program, but also increased preparedness for the fall. A fifth-grade NYC literature teacher wrote:
“The Mentor Teachers really went above and beyond. It is quite difficult to facilitate interactive discussions in a virtual space, but NSSI made it a point to design sessions that were fun and engaging for all of us. I feel way more confident teaching the material now. Everything was explicit and to the point.” — FI F T H - GR A DE LI T ER AT U R E T E ACH ER , N E W YORK CI T Y P U BLIC SCHO OLS
NEW YORK CIT Y 2023
Academic Results
Literature gains By putting rich discourse at the center, NSSI’s literature program engages students in the deep, rigorous critical thinking it takes to unlock meaning across genres. Assessments administered at the start and end of the program showed striking gains in student achievement.
Increases in average student score On a 100-point scale, the average class score in literature increased by 15 percentage points from pre- to post-assessment. All grades showed improvement, with average gains ranging from four points to 20 points. 2023 Growth in Literature Average Score Post-assessment
Average Score (%)
Pre-assessment
“
My favorite part of the summer is that I have grown as a writer and put in hard work that my teachers notice. I like how my reading skills have became better and how I have more confidence to read in front of the class. — SIX T H - GR ADE ST U DEN T, PH I LI P ’S ACA DEM Y CHAR T ER SCHO OL
Increases in student proficiency On average across all grades, the percent of students who met the proficiency cutoff in literature increased by 25 percentage points. All grades showed proficiency growth, with average gains ranging from 10 points to 32 points. 2023 Growth in Literature Proficiency Post-assessment
Percent Proficient (%)
Pre-assessment
The pre- and post-test both assess mastery of key standards necessary for success in the next grade. The percentage of students found proficient is the percentage of students who score at or above the cut score for proficiency on these standards.
Book lovers are born. Students, teachers, and administrators all agreed that the novels selected were rigorous and engaging. Ashanti Lopez, a seventh-grade literature teacher at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools shared, “I’m seeing the students excited to read. It’s to the point where I have to stop them from reading ahead!”
“I have to stop them from reading ahead!” 75% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “The novel selection is rigorous and engaging for my students.” 71% of students agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I enjoyed the novel we read this summer.”
ACADEMIC RESULTS
Academic Results
Math gains NSSI’s math program fosters conceptual understanding and critical thinking to drive deep learning. Across grades, math students made impressive gains from pre- to post-assessments.
Increases in average student score On a 100-point scale, the average class score in math increased by 26 percentage points over the five-week program. 2023 Growth in Math Average Score Post-assessment
Average Score (%)
Pre-assessment
All grades showed improvement in math, with kindergarten through eighth-grade student scores increasing by an average of 23 percentage points and high school student scores increasing by an average of 39 percentage points. A math teacher from Ector County Schools shared, “Students wanted to keep solving math problems. The more they did them the more their confidence grew—they were able to solve the problems.”
Increases in student proficiency On average across all grades, the percent of students who met the proficiency cutoff in math increased by 32 percentage points. 2023 Growth in Math Proficiency Post-assessment
Percent Proficient (%)
Pre-assessment
All grades showed proficiency growth, with the percent of students proficient in kindergarten through eighth-grade increasing by an average of 31 percentage points and the percent of students proficient in high school increasing by an average of 39 percentage points.
Building a foundation Teachers consistently noted how effective NSSI’s curriculum structure was for their students. Rebecca Camp, a sixth and seventh-grade math teacher from Everett Public Schools shared, “The Problem Solving and Foundations classes work together to build the most valuable skills in the grade. I love to see students sharing their strategies and trying new ones. The routine is key and it all works so well together.”
“The Problem Solving and Foundations classes work
together to build the most valuable skills in the grade.”
ACADEMIC RESULTS
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