From Lion to Lamb: Rethinking Summer School
- DocHolbrook
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
The Seasonal Shift
The first day of spring hit New York, and with it comes a saying we’ve all heard:
March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.
You can feel that shift almost immediately.
The air softens. The days stretch a little longer. Kids start showing up in 50-degree weather wearing shorts and T-shirts—usually a little too early. Their energy changes. Their attention drifts just slightly toward what’s coming next.
Summer.
And in schools, that shift happens too.
Administrators start thinking about summer school.
Two Mindsets About Summer
There are usually two ways schools think about summer. The first is that it should be fun—a break from the structure of the school year.
Something lighter. Something different.
The second is that it’s for the students who didn’t make it. The ones who failed. The ones who need to “do it again.”
And to be fair, both of those ideas come from a real place. Kids do need joy. And some students do need additional support.
But last year, I found myself thinking about summer differently.
Not as a break. Not as a consequence.
But as time.
What if summer school wasn’t about fun or failure?
What if it was about giving students something they don’t always get enough of during the school year—
More time to learn.
Start With the Right Question
When we start thinking about summer as time, the question shifts.
It’s no longer: Who failed?
It becomes: Who is not on track—and what would happen if we gave them more time?
This is where data matters.
Not in a compliance way. Not in a sorting way. But in a way that helps us make better decisions for kids. When we look at progress monitoring data—oral reading fluency, MAZE, or other CBM measures—we’re not just looking at scores. We’re looking at trajectories. Where did the student start? Where do they need to go?And how fast are they getting there?
But the most important question is this:
If this student continues at their current rate, where will they end up?
Because for many students, the answer is clear.
They won’t get there.
\And when that happens, the issue is not always effort. It’s not always motivation. It’s not even always instruction. It’s time.
Summer gives us a chance to change that.
Why High-Impact Tutoring Works
If summer is about giving students more time, then how we structure that time matters. This is where high-impact tutoring becomes essential.
High-impact tutoring is not just extra help. It is structured, intentional, and aligned to student need. It happens frequently, in small groups, and is focused on specific skill gaps.
When done well, it works.
Not because it is longer. But because it is focused and consistent.
Research consistently shows that tutoring is one of the most effective academic interventions available. A large meta-analysis found that tutoring produced significant positive effects across the majority of studies (Nickow et al., 2020).
Additional analysis from the Brookings Institution highlights that well-designed tutoring programs can accelerate student learning at a rate far greater than many traditional interventions (Kraft & Goldstein, 2020).
When tutoring is frequent, targeted, and aligned to need, it becomes not just support— but a lever for acceleration.
What This Looks Like in Practice
The challenge, of course, is making this work in real schools.
Summer programs have real constraints. Students come in and out due to vacations. Staffing is limited. Teachers cannot be in multiple places at once.
So instead of designing a perfect model that doesn’t exist, we design one that works within those constraints.
What emerges is a staggered, rotational model that maximizes both time and staffing. In this model, students in rising grades 1–4 attend from 8:30 to 12:30. Each grade has approximately 15 students, grouped into three small groups of five. Instead of all students receiving ELA at the same time, instruction is staggered.
Grades 1 and 2 begin the day with ELA, while grades 3 and 4 begin with math. Then they switch.
From 8:30 to 9:30, grades 1–2 receive ELA instruction in small groups, while grades 3–4 receive math.
From 9:30 to 10:30, the groups switch—grades 1–2 move to math, and grades 3–4 receive ELA.
During each instructional block, students are divided into three groups:
One group works with a reading or math teacher
One group works with a special education teacher
One group works with the classroom teacher
This structure ensures that instruction remains small, targeted, and responsive to student need, while also allowing teachers to rotate efficiently across grade levels.
Staggering the Rest of the Day
The rest of the schedule is also intentionally staggered.
From 10:30 to 11:15, grades 1–2 attend lunch, recess, or physical education while grades 3–4 participate in library or read aloud.
From 11:15 to 12:00, the groups switch—grades 1–2 move to library or read aloud, and grades 3–4 rotate to lunch, recess, or physical education.
Students are dismissed shortly after.
This staggered structure prevents overcrowding, keeps transitions smooth, and ensures that every part of the day is purposeful.
Designing for Sustainability
Just as important as student learning is designing a model that is sustainable for both teachers and families.
One of the biggest challenges in summer programming is consistency. Families travel. Schedules shift. Teachers need time to rest. And when programs are built around full attendance for the entire summer, they often struggle to maintain both staffing and student participation.
Instead of designing for perfect attendance, this model is designed for flexibility.
Teachers can sign up to work in two-week intervals, allowing them to contribute while still preserving part of their summer. Some may choose to teach the entire program, but others can participate in shorter cycles without disrupting the structure.
Students can engage in the same way.
Families can commit to the full program if they are able. But if not, students can still participate in meaningful instructional cycles by attending in two-week blocks.
This approach increases participation while also aligning with what we know about learning.
Short, focused periods of consistent instruction—especially when delivered daily in small groups—can produce meaningful gains. When those cycles are intentionally designed, even partial participation becomes impactful.
Summer school, in this model, is no longer dependent on perfect attendance.
It becomes flexible, modular, and sustainable.
A Shift in Mindset
When we begin to think about summer this way, something shifts.
Summer school is no longer:
A place we send students
A punishment
Or simply an enrichment experience
It becomes something more powerful.
A strategic window.
A chance to accelerate learning.
To change trajectories.
To give students something they often don’t get enough of during the school year:
Time.
Because for some students, time is the barrier.
And summer—
gives it back.
When we know better, we teach better.
See you next Sunday!
References
Augustine, C. H., McCombs, J. S., Pane, J. F., Schwartz, H. L., Schweig, J., & McEachin, A. (2016). Learning from summer: Effects of voluntary summer learning programs on low-income urban youth. RAND Corporation.
Kraft, M. A., & Goldstein, M. (2020). Tutoring: A time-tested solution to an unprecedented pandemic. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/tutoring-a-time-tested-solution-to-an-unprecedented-pandemic/
Nickow, A., Oreopoulos, P., & Quan, V. (2020). The impressive effects of tutoring on PreK–12 learning: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Shanahan, T. (2020). How the teaching of reading has changed over time. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1), S235–S244.
Snow, C. E. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R&D program in reading comprehension. RAND Corporation.
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