By Jay Matthews
Last Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Brent Elementary School at 301 North Carolina Ave. S.E. the D.C. public schools held a chancellors forum on how to add useful learning to a childs summer. A significant but overlooked factor here is that one group of D.C. students those who attend public charter schools are far more likely to attend summer school than those in regular public schools.
The District like other urban districts will have a summer school that includes only about a fifth of its students. Many people laugh that off: Who in their right mind wants to go to summer school? Give the poor kids a break.
That old-fashioned attitude turns out to be educationally bankrupt. Summer learning loss has been shown to be a likely cause of low achievement in cities such as Washington.
Karl L. Alexander of Johns Hopkins University found that by 9th grade accumulated learning loss for low-income children accounted for two thirds of the achievement gap between them and higher-income children who had summer learning opportunities such as trips to the library and museums.
Nona Mitchell Richardson spokeswoman for the D.C. Public Charter School Board said an estimated 9900 of 28000 charter students in the 
city are expected to be in summer school this year or 35 percent.
Among students of regular D.C. public schools 21 percent (9429 out of 45000 students) are enrolling this summer.
The gap is even worse when you consider the way many charters use their summer sessions. Some of the most successful in the District require all students to attend summer school.
It is not just a device to remediate slow kids or enrich fast ones: It is part of the learning plan for the entire year.
Nationally charter school students on average do no better than regular school students but in the District they show more progress despite being just as disadvantaged as the regular school kids. Charters can raise extra money for such programs but these days so can regular schools.
Ron Fairchild and Jeff Smink of the Baltimore-based National Summer Learning Association extolled making summer school part of the school year in a commentary in Education Week. That approach they said
learning programs even though parents of 56 of those kids not participating in summer learning would like them to.
It might be time to shed our discomfort with the notion of summer school for all and see whether it helps our kids particularly those in districts such as D.C.
The people running the Brent Elementary forum Wednesday would like to do much more with the summer than they are able. Check out what they offer.
Would it be so bad if every child had a chance to learn in that way and get a head start on the new school year?
Read Jays blog every day at http://washingtonpost.com/class-struggle. Follow all the Posts Education coverage on Twitter Facebook and our Education web page.
city are expected to be in summer school this year or 35 percent.
Among students of regular D.C. public schools 21 percent (9429 out of 45000 students) are enrolling this summer.
The gap is even worse when you consider the way many charters use their summer sessions. Some of the most successful in the District require all students to attend summer school.
It is not just a device to remediate slow kids or enrich fast ones: It is part of the learning plan for the entire year.
Nationally charter school students on average do no better than regular school students but in the District they show more progress despite being just as disadvantaged as the regular school kids. Charters can raise extra money for such programs but these days so can regular schools.
Ron Fairchild and Jeff Smink of the Baltimore-based National Summer Learning Association extolled making summer school part of the school year in a commentary in Education Week. That approach they said
challenges the value of a traditional remedial model of summer school and embraces instead a seamless blend of core academic learning and hands-on enrichment activities."
Washington area suburban schools also have summer learning opportunities. Loudoun County has a math instruction camp and a middle school technical camp. The Fairfax County elementary school offerings include a Little Authors Workshop and We Do Robotics. Montgomery County has a four-week program for schools with many low-income students. Manassas City has an engineering camp. Falls Church has an array of drama and arts programs. Prince Georges County is paying students at some elementary schools $5 for every book they read up to $25. But in most communities these activities are just for a few. A new survey of 30000 households by the Afterschool Alliance reveals that three out of four U.S. schoolchildren do not participate in summerlearning programs even though parents of 56 of those kids not participating in summer learning would like them to.
It might be time to shed our discomfort with the notion of summer school for all and see whether it helps our kids particularly those in districts such as D.C.
The people running the Brent Elementary forum Wednesday would like to do much more with the summer than they are able. Check out what they offer.
Would it be so bad if every child had a chance to learn in that way and get a head start on the new school year?
Read Jays blog every day at http://washingtonpost.com/class-struggle. Follow all the Posts Education coverage on Twitter Facebook and our Education web page.
