The Tuscaloosa City Schools began this work in earnest in 2017. The year prior saw TCS serving 360 students in three system programs. Two years into the effort saw broad implementation in 2018. Three years into the effort, the system more than tripled those efforts by serving 1,403 students in nine programs during summer 2019--full implementation of summer learning academies, pilot community partnerships. This work was supported by five community partners. The number of students served represents 27 percent of total students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
Initial planning for Summer 2020 aimed to serve 1,630 students in 14 programs. Those projected numbers would have meant 31 percent of total students in kindergarten through fourth grade would have participated in a TCS Summer Learning program and an expanded cadre of community partnerships. The COVID health crisis, however, significantly altered those plans. Unable to plan in-person programming of any kind, TCS shifted strategy and instead offered virtual learning opportunities including the launch of a website (Tuscaloosa Reads), a district-wide book give-away and book delivery program, and other opportunities.
Summer 2021 is year five of the district's commitment to robust summer learning opportunities. Thanks to the passage of the Alabama Literacy Act, schools and districts are now required to serve academically vulnerable students - a commitment TCS has made good on for several years. Current plans for this summer include nine elementary face-to-face programs, three middle school programs, and programming on all three high school campuses. In all, the district's own programs will serve more than 3,000 students K-12, including well more than 50% of the students in grades K-3. The launch of a summer site for parents (www.mysummerlearning.com) provides a place for school and community programs alike to share information about all the opportunities available to students across the community.
Students who attend outperform their peers and see average gains of up to 1.5 months growth in math and reading, while peers lost between two and nine months of learning during the same time period.
Reading Academic Gains
K-2 outperformed non-attending peers
3-5: 0 loss (peers lost four months)
6-8: one month (peers lost nine months)
Math Academic Gains
3-5: one month (peers lost two months)
6-8: one and a half months (peers lost two months)