For , Lower Lab, an Upper East Side Gifted & Talented school was ranked number one by US News. Also in the top 10 were four citywide G&T programs. Each school exclusively accepts students who have been designated as 鈥済ifted.鈥�

Rounding out the top 10, however, are Success Academy 鈥� Bushwick and Success Academy 鈥� Bensonhurst, public charter schools that accept students by lottery, while also prioritizing English Language Learners (ELL).

On the surface, these schools couldn鈥檛 be more different. Number one, , has only 13% of students qualifying for Free or Reduced Price Lunch (FRL), and 1% ELLs. Number 10, , conversely,  has 65% of its students qualifying for free or reduced price lunch, and 26% who are English language learners. 

But the selective G&T schools and the unscreened charter schools have one characteristic in common: An expectation that their students can succeed.

The book, describes an experiment where 鈥渞esearchers falsely told teachers some of their students had been identified as potential high achievers. The students were in fact chosen at random.鈥�

At the end of the year, the 鈥渟tudents that were chosen were more likely to make larger gains in their academic performance,鈥� with those 鈥�7-8 years old gaining an average of 10 verbal IQ points.鈥�

This study concluded that 鈥渨hen teachers expected certain children would show greater intellectual development, those children did show greater intellectual development.鈥�

At the G&T schools, teachers have every reason to believe their students are capable of performing at the highest levels.

Parents have seen this firsthand.

鈥淚 strongly believe that when teachers are told their students are gifted, they begin to treat them as gifted 鈥� and this changes everything,鈥� asserts mom Natalya Tseytlin. 鈥淚n a gifted classroom, if a student struggles, teachers don鈥檛 assume it鈥檚 because of laziness or inability; they respond with patience and extra attention. In a regular class, that student might not receive the same support or challenge, because the teacher sees the child as average. 

Tseytlin said her son started his first grade gifted and talented program with limited English skills. But because his teacher offered consistent support and believed in him, he excelled. 

“Today he is performing at the same level as his peers,” she said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the expectations at (my child鈥檚) G&T school are so high that only gifted kids can meet them,鈥� another parent, who only asked to be identified as M.K. opined. 鈥淩egular schools don鈥檛 鈥榩ush鈥� kids enough to reach their potential. Those G&T schools that do push, get results because most kids are capable of this level of learning without being 鈥榞ifted.鈥� If teachers treat students as capable, students will indeed meet expectations.鈥�

The belief that all students can perform at a 鈥済ifted鈥� level is sacrosanct at Success Academy.

“Success Academy is Gifted for All,鈥� CEO Eva Moskowitz affirms. 鈥淲hen adult expectations are high, our scholars 鈥� mostly low-income, Black and Hispanic 鈥� can meet the highest academic standards.鈥�

The same is true at Harlem Academy, a kindergarten through 8th grade private school for students whose potential might otherwise go unrealized. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to decouple the influence of high-quality programming from high expectations,鈥� concedes Head of School Vinny Dotoli, 鈥渂ut authentically challenging students is central to the ethos of our school. When great teachers set ambitious goals and provide the structure and support to reach them, it almost always makes a lasting difference in student achievement.”

Parents with children in schools where high expectations aren鈥檛 the norm would love to see changes. 

鈥淚 have a daughter in a dual language program in East Harlem,鈥� Maria McCune relates. 鈥淎 neighbor who used to attend our school changed his daughter to a G&T program at another school in East Harlem. He immediately noticed a difference in the quality of instruction and in his daughter’s performance (MUCH improved). I participate in my daughter’s School Leadership Team and I have seen the apathy teachers there exhibit. It is concerning. When I tried to provide feedback about improving the educational experience, teachers/staff often became defensive. It is this that leads me to want to pursue G&T for my daughter.鈥�

For Tiffany Ma, the solution is obvious. 鈥淥ur second grader that transferred into G&T writes much neater and does her homework much more happily since she’s in an environment where academics and homework is valued by other classmates and parents. We should expand G&T programs. It鈥檚 regular programming that shouldn’t exist.鈥�

Yet New York City seems headed in the opposite direction. Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani has vowed to get rid of elementary school G&T programs  that begin in kindergarten. He would wait until students enter third grade, even though the research referenced above specifically mentioned children 7 and 8 years of age( i.e. second graders), as being the biggest beneficiaries of high expectations. , as well. 

This move would lower the academic standards and expectations of all schools, which deeply concerns parents like McCune. She fears 鈥淐hildren like my daughter may be left as collateral damage of an educational experience that falls short of setting them up for significant academic success.鈥�

The top schools in NYC have repeatedly demonstrated that high expectations are key to helping all students reach their full potential.

We need more such schools, be they public G&T, charter, or private. And more teachers who believe in all our kids.

鈥淚t鈥檚 actually a little surreal鈥� seeing the rich slate of offerings, said Brodrick Clarke, vice president of the .听

He鈥檚 worked at summer learning organizations for over a quarter century, making what used to be a difficult case to school administrators: That districts should offer camp-style July programs to all students rather than enrolling only those who flunked classes during the academic year.

Suddenly, his job has become much easier. 

A growing consensus has elevated summer learning programs to top priority after three consecutive school years disrupted by the pandemic. Several studies, including a 2018 , show camps blending fun and academics give students a leg up in key subject areas. So with millions of students nationwide lagging behind grade level in math and reading, and with schools sitting on billions of dollars in COVID relief cash, summer learning programs have become a go-to solution. 

So far, schools nationwide have poured $3.1 billion in American Rescue Plan dollars into summer and afterschool initiatives, according to an from Georgetown University鈥檚 FutureEd think tank. Summer learning has emerged as districts鈥� 鈥渘umber one priority鈥� for academic recovery spending, said Phyllis Jordan, the organization鈥檚 associate director.

鈥淲e’re actually investing in programs that we know work and have had results. We just get to do them at a much larger scale because there’s finally funding for it,鈥� U.S. Deputy Education Secretary Cindy Marten told 社区黑料. 

鈥淚f you put enriching, engaging experiences together for kids and give them a chance to be together, they can learn.鈥�

However, the picture remains murky on just how much progress states, districts and community organizations have actually made toward catching up students before the school year re-starts.

鈥淲e do not have data on the number of summer programs this year compared to years past,鈥� said Jen Rinehart, senior vice president of strategy and programs at the Afterschool Alliance. 鈥淪imilarly, we do not have data on the number of students enrolled this year.鈥�

Marten acknowledged she was not aware of any federal effort to track how many youth are engaging in summer learning programs this year and did not clarify when the results of these programs will come into focus.

To fill the gap, 社区黑料 obtained exclusive datasets from , a data service that tracks school policy, and the research-based auditing publicly shared information about districts鈥� summer offerings. Burbio鈥檚 figures include the 200 largest U.S. school systems and CRPE鈥檚 cover 100 major metropolitan districts, many of which overlap. Though there are roughly 13,800 districts in the country, the 200 largest account for over a quarter of the nation鈥檚 students.

The analysis comes after the Department of Education announced the Engage Every Student Initiative in July to expand access to summer and afterschool offerings. Accompanying the launch, First Lady Jill Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona toured programs in Connecticut, Michigan and Georgia.

The Burbio and CRPE numbers reveal that the vast majority of school systems did indeed provide opportunities for students to catch up on learning and most offered their summer programs at no cost to families. Specifically:

• 93% of districts, according to Burbio, and 87%, according to CRPE, offered summer learning programs this year

• 79% of school systems that had programs provided them at no cost to families

• The average program length was 154 hours, just under four weeks and roughly equivalent to 12% of the academic school year. However, some offerings only covered about 30 hours, while others made up nearly 350 total hours

Additionally, most districts offered programs that went beyond rote academics 鈥� including activities such as theater, debate and robotics 鈥� and about 2 in 5 worked with community organizations to flesh out their camps. Nearly all programs included breakfast, lunch or both:

• Of the districts that offered summer learning opportunities, at least 83% included credit recovery options, 80% mixed academics with enrichment activities such as sports, arts or social-emotional learning, 48% offered programs for students with learning disabilities and 39% had dedicated options for English learners

• 96% of programs provided meals to children and 74% offered free transportation

• At least 39% of districts partnered with community organizations on summer offerings

The data align with recent figures reported by the , which surveyed a representative sample of 859 public schools in June. The figures are not an apples-to-apples comparison with the Burbio and CRPE data because they focus on individual schools rather than districts, but also point to extensive programming nationwide. NCES found:

• Three-quarters of schools offered learning and enrichment programs this summer

• School leaders estimated that 18-20% of their students enrolled, compared to 13-16% during a typical year

• 49% of education leaders said they partnered with an outside organization, 14% offered internship programs and 13% offered summer jobs or work-based learning programs

鈥淲hen we talk about academic recovery 鈥� you can’t do it just within the regular school day,鈥� said Daniel Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. 鈥淵ou need to make sure acceleration is extra time. The summer has become that time.鈥�

A question of equity

Maritza Guridy, who has five children in Philadelphia public schools and also works as deputy director of parent voice with the , said some families in her network were able to find programs that met their needs while others were not.

鈥淔or those that [registered] early, they were able to get in there. For those that waited, it’s unfortunate,鈥� she told 社区黑料.

She enrolled her kids in a local chapter of the nationally acclaimed program and also for a shorter stint at an organization called . Among her considerations were aspects like program cost, learning opportunities and emotional supports, but also factors like fun, clear communication from leadership and a building with central air.

In addition to academics, her children have practiced yoga and went for twice-a-week swim lessons at the local YMCA. One day, they came home with a gleeful announcement: 鈥淢ommy, I jumped into the deep side of the pool today 鈥� and I wasn鈥檛 scared!鈥�

It thrilled Guridy, but she knew other families have missed out on similar joys because of barriers such as lack of transportation or no translated information about the opportunity. Guridy wants officials who plan programs to consider accessibility.

鈥淚s [messaging] being offered in different languages?,鈥� she prompts them. 鈥淗ow are parents supposed to enroll their children if they don’t even understand the application?鈥�

It鈥檚 an equity issue, said Clarke, the National Summer Learning Association VP.  Youth who don鈥檛 have access to summer programs can see academic gains evaporate between June and September, a well-documented concept known as 鈥�summer slide.鈥� Now the issue is particularly pressing, because students living in poverty have the starkest pandemic learning deficits.

鈥淔amilies with access and privilege go into their bank accounts and provide great opportunities for their kids during the summertime,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he 26 million young people that are on free and reduced lunch 鈥� don’t have that luxury to do so. But they certainly need, want and deserve to have those opportunities.鈥�

鈥楨xplosion鈥� or 鈥榓fterthought?鈥�

With the stakes at an all-time high as schools reel from the pandemic鈥檚 impacts, experts have mixed views on whether summer offerings have actually scaled up this year.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing an explosion of programs,鈥� said Ron Ottinger, executive director of , an organization connected to a network of thousands of providers across the country.

Meanwhile, Christine Pitts, who has done her own summer learning analysis as CRPE鈥檚 director of impact and communications, has a more pessimistic view.

In 2022, 鈥淸districts] were offering less than they were last year. So it’s almost like summer slipped back into that characterization of being an afterthought again,鈥� she told 社区黑料.

Her team found that school systems provided fewer offerings for English learners and fewer programs with social-emotional supports this summer compared to last.

鈥淚t’s hard to speculate at a national level, why that might have dropped off,鈥� said Marten, the deputy secretary. Some districts may have decided their 2021 summer programs had done enough to catch learners up and that they could scale back this year, she said. However, if leaders wanted to maintain programs but were facing a lack of funds, she encouraged them to tap resources from the new initiative.

Contrasting the data Pitts saw, Nicholas Munyan-Penney spoke to officials in over 30 states about their summer learning programs while researching for a report with . The narrative he heard was of continued growth.

鈥淎necdotally, they’ve said that there’s definitely been an increase in enrollment this summer,鈥� the researcher told 社区黑料.

Rinehart also cites data that indicate an upward trend. In the spring of 2022, her organization and 90% said they were planning to offer summer programs, compared to 79% at the same time a year earlier. Respondents also indicated they expected upticks in enrollment, with an increased share expressing concern they wouldn鈥檛 be able to meet families鈥� demand for programs.

In one of the only direct comparisons between this year and last, the recently released NCES data found no change between 2021 and 2022, with the share of schools saying they offered summer learning programs holding steady at 75%.

鈥楬ow are we going to fill the staff?鈥�

One factor often hindering summer learning expansion has been a staff, only the latest symptom of wider shortages that have affected K-12 schools for much of the past year.

鈥淥fficials are finding it very hard to find teachers,鈥� said Domenech. 鈥淚n many cases, the problem has been that where the district has large numbers of kids sign up for the summer programs, they wind up wanting to cut back because they just don’t have the staff to cover it.鈥�

In Madison, Wisconsin, for example, administrators had to from their summer offerings, about 1 in 6 students who had signed up, because of 鈥渦nanticipated staffing challenges.鈥�

Gia Maxwell works as a site director at summer learning provider . Throughout the spring, she joined monthly calls with leaders from across the Breakthrough network, which operates in 26 cities. Her colleagues were continually worried about finding enough instructors.

鈥淓veryone was talking about, 鈥楬ow are we going to fill the staff? How are we going to fill the staff,鈥欌�� she told 社区黑料.

Her Miami program usually finds all 130 youth and 30 adult staff for its summer teaching corps by May, she said. But this year, it took until halfway through teacher training in mid-June to recruit everyone, and they had to hire more teenage candidates than usual. 

The Providence, Rhode Island Breakthrough location was forced to this summer altogether, explaining 鈥渨e have struggled to recruit students and teachers this year.鈥�

To combat shortages, Arkansas brought in tutors from its to staff summer programs, said Munyan-Penney. In West Virginia, program leaders pulled from teacher training programs in the state to fill out their summer learning staff ranks. And Arizona boosted teachers鈥� wages 20% for the summer months to entice instructors.

They鈥檙e among the states 鈥溾�嬧�媡hinking about the staffing issue and being proactive about it,鈥� said the Education Reform Now researcher.

鈥楳ath, Reading and a Little Stampeding鈥�

Several states shared provisional data with 社区黑料 on their summer offerings, though many said they won鈥檛 have finalized enrollment or academic impact numbers for months.  

In Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey launched the which state leaders estimate has served about 100,000 campers 鈥� 10% of the state鈥檚 1 million students 鈥� across 680 sites, including at least one in every county. 

Arizona officials went to great lengths to spread the word about the program. The state ran a including ads on television, radio, social media and in magazines, and direct texts to parents in both English and Spanish informing them of the free programs.

鈥淲e targeted lower-income families, as the goal of free summer camp was to see the highest number of campers from families that may not have been able to afford an adventure-style summer camp in prior years,鈥� Kaitlin Harrier, the governor鈥檚 senior policy advisor, wrote in an email to 社区黑料. 

The governor鈥檚 office opted for a 鈥渟ummer camp鈥� approach rather than a 鈥渟ummer school鈥� model, describing the opportunities as 鈥淢ath, Reading, and a Little Stampeding,鈥� said Harrier.

鈥淚t is no secret that when kids are having fun, it sets up a great foundation for learning,鈥� she added.

In Connecticut, the state also rolled out a grant program to help providers beef up their summer offerings and defray program costs for low-income youth. The state disbursed roughly $8 million in grants last summer and increased that sum to $12 million for 2022, said Eric Scoville, communications director for the State Department of Education.

Enrollment across a sample of 121 locations nearly doubled, from 17,000 to 32,000, between 2020 and 2021, according to an spearheaded by University of Connecticut researchers. However, it鈥檚 too early to tell how many students the state reached this summer, said Scoville.

In North Carolina, all 115 school districts offered one or more summer learning programs this year funded by COVID relief money, each attended by 30 to 200 students, said Todd Silberman, a public information officer at the state鈥檚 Department of Public Instruction. The enrollment figures will not be finalized for several weeks, he said, but he expects the total will be lower than 2021, when the state legislature required math, science, English and enrichment summer learning programs.

At the city level, Baltimore City Public Schools has scaled up its programming sharply thanks to COVID relief dollars. The maximum number of youth the 77,800-student district had served between June and August previous to the pandemic had been 9,000, said Ronda Welsh, the district鈥檚 extended learning coordinator. But in 2021, they reached 15,000 and have served at least that many again in 2022.

鈥淥ur goal was to provide as many opportunities as we could for students in Baltimore,鈥� Welsh told 社区黑料.

Tulsa, for its part, has also cultivated a thriving summer learning culture, part of a wider 鈥淐ity of Learning鈥� initiative that has been in the works for several years. That infrastructure has made the district into a poster child for community partnership, with over 40 youth-serving organizations contributing to the district鈥檚 programming this summer 鈥� including clubs for debating, biking and rowing.

鈥淭he summer is the time that kids get to experience those things they otherwise would not have the opportunity to do, especially during the school year,鈥� said Jackie DuPont, executive director of the , which orchestrates the connections between the nonprofits and the district.

However, the district has not been able to maintain its high summer learning enrollment. Last summer, about a third of its 33,000 students participated in summer learning 鈥� an unusually large share. This year, a total of 7,000 youth engaged in the school system鈥檚 initiative, Director of Expanded Learning Jessica Goodman estimated. 

鈥溾�嬧�婰ast summer was really an immediate response to not having kids in our school buildings 鈥� so some families just needed that time more than they did this summer,鈥� she told 社区黑料.

Despite enrollment fluctuations, Marten believes the proliferation of new summer learning programs nationwide will outlast the influx of federal funding.

鈥淐ommunities will fall in love with these programs,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey will say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e never going to let this stop. We’re not just doing this because there was a pandemic. We’re doing this because this is what’s good for kids. Let’s keep doing it.鈥欌��