Afterschool and summer learning called out in Improving Student Achievement agenda

Earlier this month the Biden administration announced a new effort focused on providing students with the support they need to accelerate learning and be successful in school and life. The Improving Student Achievement Agenda for 2024 was launched at the White House on January 17 and is focused on supporting evidence-based strategies that will accelerate academic performance for every child in school. As part of the announcement the Afterschool Alliance committed to expanding credit for learning opportunities for middle and high school youth.

The administration’s new agenda will utilize federal policy tools including accountability, reporting, grants, and technical assistance to encourage state and local adoption of three evidence-based strategies that improve student learning:

1. increasing summer learning, afterschool, and expanded learning opportunities
2. increasing student attendance
3. providing high-dosage tutoring

The agenda seeks to leverage remaining American Rescue Plan (ARP) ESSER III funding and use existing policy supports to encourage states and districts to achieve greater adoption of the three proven strategies mentioned above in an effort to accelerate academic progress nationwide. The strategies complement the administration’s ongoing focus on improving mental health in schools, supporting America’s teachers and other school staff, strengthening core instruction through the Raise the Bar: Lead the World initiative, and supporting access to quality afterschool and summer learning programs through the Engage Every Student Initiative. As part of the announcement, the administration highlighted the power of increasing summer learning and afterschool programs:

One study found that when students consistently participate in high-quality afterschool enrichment programs, it adds about four months of student learning to the academic year… Summer programs lasting five weeks with at least three hours of academic instruction per day add about two months of learning in math and one month of learning in reading, according to a meta-analysis. The use of data on student participation and program quality helps these programs succeed, and their success enables teachers to deliver instruction more effectively during the regular school day. Close to half of school districts have invested American Rescue Plan funds in expanded summer learning, which has been shown to improve students’ math scores.

One of the strategies outlined by the administration was the recent announcement enabling states to continue spending pandemic relief funds on academic achievement into the 2024-25 school year. Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Education issued a letter, Frequently Asked Questions, and template to support states and provide a critical pathway to continue to use ARP dollars in the 2024-2025 school year on academic supports like afterschool and summer learning.

Additionally, according to the announcement, the department is:

• Advising states to use other federal funding, including Title I and Title IV funding under ESEA, to support tutoring, afterschool and summer programs, and activities to increase student attendance – including through valuable programs like 21st Century Community Learning Centers; and
• Fully enforcing the maintenance of effort and maintenance of equity provisions in ARP to ensure that states and districts maintain their own levels of education spending, including in schools and districts with high rates of poverty. To date, under the department’s robust implementation of these provisions, 43 states increased education spending, post-pandemic compared to pre-pandemic, and 47 states safeguarded funding in high-poverty communities and drove approximately $600 million to high-needs schools.

The agenda also includes commitments to support academic achievement made by several philanthropic and national organizations, including the Afterschool Alliance, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, National PTA, National Summer Learning Association, Overdeck Family Foundation, the Wallace Foundation and the YMCA of the USA. The Afterschool Alliance’s commitment, in collaboration with five statewide afterschool networks, city intermediaries, local programs, and national organizations, will advance academic acceleration for middle and high school youth through credit-for-learning opportunities. Collaborating organizations will pilot and promote opportunities for youth to earn credits towards high school graduation through their afterschool and summer learning programs. Credit-for-learning opportunities allow youth to personalize their learning experience by exploring areas of interest during afterschool programs while earning high school credits.