Once all stakeholder feedback, youth outcomes data and quality assessment data is collected and analyzed, give key program stakeholders a chance to respond to it and use it to plan for next summer. In the spirit of a continuous quality improvement cycle, a program’s end-of-summer reflections should feed directly into the development of the Quality Improvement Plan for the next year. The main difference at this juncture is that if you’ve completed the cycle once (PLAN, TRAIN, ASSESS AND REFLECT) with your program, you presumably have a great deal more information to use when planning for the second year, beyond the content of the Phased Comprehensive Assessment of Summer Programs (P-CASP) self-assessment in the PLAN chapter of the Summer Starts in September Planning Guide. This planning session can include a combination of individual, group, remote and in-person review of data.
1. Identify who should participate in the meeting. Which stakeholder groups? Which staff members?
– a short quality assessment report; (more in the ASSESS online companion guide)
– a top level summary of stakeholder feedback from surveys and any large or small group debriefs; and
– a youth outcomes brief
Too much data will overwhelm participants and could derail the important task of prioritizing improvements for next summer.
major categories for planning discussions and prepare and practice methods for building group consensus.
Focus on recording: create a visual record of key points of agreement and disagreement during a dialogue. Ensure that discussion and decisions are accurately captured to aid in the consensus-making process. If your program has operating principles or values, use those as a reminder for how to proceed in what may at times be heated conversation.
Use a jigsaw technique: Assign small groups of participants to become experts on different sections of the reflection data (quality assessment, youth outcomes, stakeholder feedback) and then ask a designated reporter or reporters from each group to bring the rest of the large group up to speed on the findings.
Similar Resources
Product Review: Using Video Games to Support LearningJune 8, 2018 - 10:46 pmGame Learning is an educational video game development company that believes fun and education should go hand in hand. They’ve released two games: Roanoke: The Lost Colony and Boston: Road to Revolution, and they have 60 more games under development.
Summer Learning – A Smart Investment for California School DistrictsFebruary 13, 2018 - 5:23 pmThroughout California, school district leaders are using their newfound flexibility under LCFF to put summer to work in ways that serve equity goals. Their summer learning programs take many shapes and involve creative partnerships customized to meet local needs and circumstances.
Effective Summer Learning Programs: Case StudiesJanuary 16, 2018 - 11:05 pmThere’s no doubt that budget cuts have had a tremendous impact on the availability of summer learning programs throughout California. But with a little creativity and a lot of dedication, some communities have managed to overcome the obstacles and create effective programs that are engaging students, expanding in size and scope, and demonstrating positive outcomes.
Website by 
