3 predictions for the upcoming summer

As summer programs across the country are opening their doors (or getting ready to), we’re taking a look back at results from last year’s program provider survey. Based on what providers had to say about their 2025 summer experience, we’re forecasting what the upcoming months may hold for programs, kids, and families.

Prediction 1: For the summer of 2026, programs will be open for business

It’s safe to say that summer programs aren’t going anywhere. Similar to previous years, more than 9 in 10 summer program providers reported that they offered programming: 96% of providers offered programming during the 2023 summer, 94% in the summer of 2024, and 95% for the 2025 summer. The consistency across surveys to this question during the past few years indicates that programs will continue to provide offerings during the summer.

Prediction 2: More summer program providers will prioritize a holistic approach to summer learning

Roughly 3 in 10 summer program providers said that they had a greater focus on ensuring a balance of academic and enrichment activities (31%) or a more intentional focus on their students’ holistic needs and overall well-being (28%). In addition to small increases from the summer of 2024 (25%, all), a recently released report on summer data from the America After 3PM study—a national household survey of more than 30,000 parents of school-age children—found that parents want a well-rounded summer for their children.

An overwhelming majority of parents say that the factors extremely important when selecting what their child does over the summer include opportunities to spend more time on fun and educational activities and less time on screens (67%), supporting their child’s mental health and well-being (65%), chances to build confidence (66%) and develop positive relationships with other kids (63%), being active (61%) and outside (56%), and a variety of activities (56%). Time outdoors, spending more time on fun and educational activities, less screen time, physical activity, opportunities to build confidence, and a variety of activities were more important to parents when choosing their child’s summer activities versus their afterschool program. The combination of the slight increases reported by program providers and the pronounced preferences of parents point to a growing prioritization of a comprehensive approach to summer programming. 

Prediction 3: For many summer programs, meeting the demand from families will be challenging

Although 31% of providers expanded their summer program to serve more children and 15% offered programs at more sites than in the past, nearly half of summer program providers surveyed reported that they had a waitlist for their program, identical to the summer of 2024 (47%, all). Additionally, a majority of summer program providers continue to express concerns about their ability to meet the demand from families. 62% of summer program providers said that they were concerned during the summer of 2025, similar to the summers of 2024 and 2023 (61% and 62%, respectively).

The America After 3PM report, “The Summer Struggle for Everyday Families: Affording the Opportunities Parents Want for Youth,” reinforces the high demand for summer programs. While 12 million young people participated in a structured summer experience in 2024, 1 in 2 children whose parents want them in a summer program are missing out—or approximately 12.6 million children.

On top of these three predictions, one other area that deserves attention this summer is supports providers need. Being able to adequately support young people’s mental health and well-being and the ability to hire enough staff have been summer program providers’ top concerns for the past three summers. For the summer of 2025, 43% of providers were concerned about their ability to support young people’s mental health and well-being and 40% were concerned about staffing.

Both surveys of program providers and parents make clear that parents want fun and engaging summer experiences for their children, and program providers are doing their best to meet the needs of their kids and families. However, demand for summer programs outpaces the supply of programs. For this upcoming summer, we hope that the gap between demand and supply starts to narrow—and to do that, you can take a look at recommendations from “The Summer Struggle for Everyday Families,” which include, but are not limited to, increasing investment in summer programs and targeting barriers to participation, including cost, transportation, and lack of information on available programs.