Schools Out For Summer!

As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, I like to think I came of age at the peak of rock & roll. There were the Allman Brothers, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Alice Cooper — perhaps best known for his timeless classic, “School’s Out For Summer!” Oh, how we waited to blast that tune on that fateful June day!

For many of our children, June is still that month of transition. School ends and books get put away. Clothes now too tight and too short get discarded, and, in advance of summer camp, shopping lists get finalized and bags get packed.

Last week, I took two of my children to overnight camp, where for several weeks they will live in bunks with girls and boys from different places, get mentored by caring young adults, and spend time trying new activities, learning about brotherhood and sisterhood, becoming leaders and learners, and simply being themselves. How remarkable.

Each day as I look at photos from the previous day’s activities and read the letters describing in detail the magnificent gift of summer my children get to experience, I’m overwhelmed with joy, gratitude, and sadness. Joy and gratitude for the delights of summer shared by lucky children like my own and sadness for the hundreds of thousands of kids that never get this opportunity. We use the word equity a lot in education these days and I’m certain it means different things to different people. In my view, education’s greatest inequity is in learning time. Simply stated, children in poverty experience way fewer hours of learning than their well-off peers. As Chris Smith points out in Commonwealth Magazine, summer learning inequity is a major driver of our nation’s shameful achievement gap.

Fortunately, in California we have a program called “Summer Matters.” Catchy words for sure, but more importantly, they represent a group of committed school districts and community organizations working incredibly hard to overcome this learning time inequity. When I was superintendent in Sacramento, our Summer of Service and Summer at City Hall programs enabled thousands of children to experience the joy of learning something new and fun that they chose themselves, without all the restrictions and demands of a school day. Along the way we adults learned some amazing lessons too.

Children are willing and eager learners when we let them choose the topic. Older children enjoy working with and mentoring younger children. And educators really get to know their students when lesson plans and pacing guides are removed. Dozens of models exist, and states and school districts can look to California for inspiration and aspiration. All we need is the will to spread these programs far and wide.

Summer is a time to explore new ideas, learn new skills, make new friends, take risks, see new places, and have fun. Let’s make sure summer means those things to every child, and to Alice Cooper I say, “School’s Out for Summer and Now the Learning Matters Big Time!

This is a guest blog by Jonathon P. Raymond, President of the Stuart Foundation. The Stuart Foundation is committed to improving life outcomes for young people through education. You can read his blog at Medium.

Apply here to contribute a guest post to Summer Matters.