Did Summer Deliver? Measuring Impact and Securing Stakeholder Buy-in for Summer Learning

When summer school ends, one question inevitably follows: Did it work?

Answering that question isn’t always straightforward for district and school leaders. In some summer learning programs, results are clear and measurable. In others, impact is harder to pin down, especially if the program began without a shared definition of success or a clear connection to the school year.

In a recent NSSI LinkedIn Live conversation, Dr. Gregory Hutchings, Jr., former superintendent and now professor at Howard University and founder of Revolutionary Ed, joined Nancy Livingston, NSSI’s CEO, to explore how to make summer a more strategic, sustainable driver of student learning.

The two shared lessons from their own leadership experience and from districts nationwide. They reflected that summer can be a short-term patch for unfinished learning or a launchpad for lasting instructional improvement. The difference always comes down to intentional design and follow-through.

Start with a Theory of Change Before Summer Begins

Hutchings sees a common pitfall: school districts launching summer programs without a clear definition of success. “If you don’t set the goals on the front end,” he explained, “no one—board, community, or staff—knows what to expect or how to measure it.”

His advice: build a simple theory of change. Frame it as an if–then statement: If we do X, then Y will happen for our students. That clarity drives every major decision—who to serve, how to structure the day, and how to measure outcomes.

Livingston underscored that this clarity is more than just instructional; it’s also financial. 

That means defining:

• Purpose: Are you supporting students who are behind in specific skills? Strengthening literacy for all K–2 students? Offering enrichment to maintain engagement?

• Target Group: Which students are you prioritizing, and why?

• Outcomes: What specific competencies should students gain by the end of summer?

Research offers some baselines. Programs should run at least 20 instructional days, with 90 minutes each of ELA and math daily, and use curriculum that’s ready to implement from day one.

NSSI’s partners often build their summer theory of change around these parameters, giving teachers the structure and tools to focus on instruction from the first morning. Without this intentionality, Hutchings warns, programs risk becoming “busy but not impactful.”

Build Coherence Between Summer and the School Year

Many districts design summer in isolation from their school-year approach, which misses an opportunity. Hutchings has seen summers full of engaging, relevant learning experiences, only for students to return in the fall to a completely different instructional model.

“You can’t make summer the only time learning is fun,” he said. “That same joy, relevance, and quality should be present all year.”

Strategic alignment means:

• Instructional continuity: Use strategies, routines, and structures that students will encounter in the school year.

• Content relevance: Select texts and materials that connect to student interests and identities. “If a student loves baseball,” Hutchings said, “find them a book about baseball. That’s how you hook them.”

• Consistent expectations: Keep classroom management and engagement practices aligned across seasons.

Smaller summer classes often draw teachers from multiple schools. This creates cross-pollination opportunities, such as sharing practices, aligning approaches, and building common language that strengthens coherence district-wide.

Livingston emphasized that when this alignment is done well, even a short summer can have a lasting effect on how students see themselves as learners. 

When summer is seen as part of a year-round plan, students re-enter the school year confident, familiar with routines, and ready to build on what they’ve already learned.

Measure More Than Just Student Growth

Districts often default to assessing summer with the same tools they use during the school year. Hutchings cautioned against this. “Your end-of-year test isn’t designed for a five-week program,” he said. “It’s not a fair or useful measure.”

Instead, leaders should:

• Identify a small set of competencies aligned with the program’s theory of change.

• Use existing school-year data as a baseline rather than re-testing unnecessarily.

• Build in formative “dipstick” checks during the program to guide instruction.

• Gather qualitative feedback from students, families, and staff.

• Track operational indicators like attendance and on-time program completion.

“You can get great growth,” Hutchings noted, “but if teachers leave saying, ‘I’d never do this again,’ you haven’t built a sustainable model.” Teacher and family satisfaction are not “soft” measures, but rather determine whether your program can run successfully in future years.

Livingston echoed the point, stressing that sustainability depends on more than test scores. 

NSSI works with districts to combine student growth data, operational metrics, and stakeholder feedback into board-ready reports that capture the full return on investment.

Use Summer as an Incubator for Instructional and Leadership Practice

For students, summer offers more focused attention. For teachers and leaders, it’s a chance to sharpen practice in a live, lower-stakes environment.

Hutchings described the power of “learn it today, try it tomorrow” PD models, where teachers immediately apply strategies in class and receive targeted coaching. This is especially valuable when introducing new instructional approaches—such as structured literacy routines—before the school year begins.

The same principle applies to leadership. Many districts use summer to give assistant principals and aspiring principals hands-on experience running programs, managing staff, and responding to daily challenges. By the start of school, these leaders have already logged valuable repetitions in instructional leadership.

Not all teachers will choose to work in the summer—and that’s okay. The goal isn’t to overhaul your entire district through summer PD alone, but to strategically seed best practices among those who do participate.

Livingston connected this directly to the science of reading movement. 

Present Summer Results to Your Board Like a Strategic Investment

When it’s time to report out, boards should hear more than enrollment numbers and test scores. Hutchings urged leaders to blend quantitative and qualitative evidence to tell a complete story.

That means sharing:

• Alignment: How summer is tied directly to district priorities.

• Impact: Growth on targeted competencies, attendance rates, and participation data.

• Voices: Testimonials from students, teachers, and families that humanize the numbers.

• Challenges: Acknowledgment of barriers, such as staffing gaps, and solutions.

• Year-round connection: How strategies from summer will carry into the school year.

Boards and the public should see summer not as an “extra,” but as a lever for achieving broader academic goals. When framed this way, continued investment is easier to justify.

Hutchings offered a blunt reminder: “Summer learning is not a filler. It’s an extension. If it’s not intentional, it’s a waste of time for students, and a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

Livingston reminded us that intentional planning is what makes summer a true investment. “If you don’t know where to start, if you’re spending a lot of money but you’re not quite sure what you’re getting out of it, talk to us. We can really help you think through how to maximize that investment for the academic gains you’re trying to drive, for the teacher practice gains you’re trying to drive.”

District leaders who approach summer with clear goals, coherent design, targeted measurement, and a commitment to joy position their students and staff for stronger results year-round.

NSSI helps districts turn summer into a launchpad for lasting improvement, with turnkey K–8 solutions that integrate curriculum, professional learning, and operational support. From theory of change to board-ready reporting, we partner with leaders to make summer count every year.

This content is derived from expertise from a LinkedIn live webinar on August 20, 2025, featuring Nancy Livingston and Dr. Gregory Hutchings. For more conversations like this, follow NSSI on LinkedIn to keep an eye out for future blog posts and LinkedIn Live events.