What will summer hold for America’s students and families this season?
The COVID-19 crisis has illuminated the enormous digital divide, food insecurity, childcare, and learning loss challenges that millions of under-resourced students and their families experience every summer. The Covid-19 learning loss combined with the usual summer slide may have a ripple effect for years to come. Decades of research, however, show high-quality summer programs improve math and reading skills, and build critical social-emotional skills of students. However, these programs may look vastly different in a COVID-19 reality. Leaders from across the country came together to discuss the state of summertime experiences in America, summer solutions emerging in this pandemic, along with recommendations for the investments and policies needed to improve conditions for children and families during this COVID-19 summer and beyond.