Summer Learning Resources

Camp: 150 Years of Summer Learning

ACA is pleased to partner with the National Summer Learning Association to share resources and information about the positive benefits of summer learning and enrichment for children and youth. Here you will find resources related to summer learning and camp, camp-school partnerships, research, and public policy information from ACA, NSLA, and other organizations.

Did you know?

• Research shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer (White, 1906; Entwisle & Alexander 1992; Cooper, 1996; Downey et al, 2004).
• Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months (Cooper, 1996).
• More than half of the achievement gap between lower and higher income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. As a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college (Alexander et al, 2007).

Prevent Summer Learning Loss: Four Things You Can Do TODAY

1. Make reflection an intentional part of each day. Provide a journal to each of your campers and integrate journal sharing into your campfire programs. Learn more.

2. Start an "Explore 30" program at your camp, where each camper spends 30 minutes reading each day (during rest periods, free time, or before lights out).

3. Use Nature Circle Cards to create reflective, engaging moments in or around nature. Learn more about these cards at the Web site of Hooked on Nature, an ACA partner.

4. Connect with your local libraries, civic organizations, or faith-based organizations for book donations to start a camp book club or camp library.

Discover the most recent articles about summer learning from Camping Magazine, the official publication of ACA.

• Positive Learning (5/10)

by Bruce S. Muchnick, Ed.D. and Penny S. Bryan, Ph.D.

• Summer School and Summer Camp (3/10)

by Lance Ozier

• The Experiential Classroom: Camp (3/10)

by Marla Coleman

• Camps and Classrooms (11/09)

by Lance Ozier

• The Power of Camp: Camp Changes Lives in Positive Ways (5/09)
  by Jessica Coleman
• Click here for more articles . . .

Research

• The Learning Season: The Untapped Power of Summer to Advance Student Achievement
  This extensive report from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation reveals that summer learning is more important than previously believed.
• Summer Can Set Kids on the Right—or Wrong—Course: Study Links a Lack of Academic Achievement, High Drop-out Rate, to Summertime Learning Loss (PDF)
• Building Quality in Summer Learning Programs: Approaches and Recommendations

This report from the National Summer Learning Association and The Wallace Foundation explores resources available to various programs that typically serve youth living in high-poverty urban centers.

• Research in Brief and Publications from the National Summer Learning Association
  Find research briefs, current study information, and other NSLA research publications.

Public Policy

• ACA Public Policy Position Statement on School Calendars (PDF)
• ACA Position Paper on Year-Round Education (PDF)
• How Did You Spend Your Summer Vacation? What Public Policies Do (and Don’t Do) to Support Summer Learning Opportunities for all Youth (PDF)

Education

This resource guides child and youth professionals in improving the quality of their summer programs by meeting the academic and youth development needs of their young people.

• ACA Bookstore

Find great summer learning tools for educators, out-of-school time professionals, and other child and youth professionals

• Camp-School Partnership Guidebook (MS Word)

For information about how to create camp-school partnerships, read Creating Camp-School Partnerships: A Guidebook to Success published by the American Camp Association.

• Out-of-School Time Learning Graduate Certificate (PDF)

The National Summer Learning Association at Johns Hopkins University is pleased to offer an online graduate certificate program geared toward program managers of summer and afterschool programs.

• Making the Most of Summer: A Handbook on Effective Summer Programming and Thematic Learning

Other Resources

• Search Institute: Summer Tips for Academic Success
• Reading Is Fundamental
• Family Education
• Connect with Kids