The National Summer School Initiative 2024
Meet the moment. Tackle unfinished learning. Propel students forward.
Partner with us to deliver accelerated learning and prepare your students to thrive in the next grade.
We help your teachers deliver a five-week summer program that is uncommonly engaging and exceptionally effective.
Participating teachers work in close partnership with award-winning mentor teachers in their grade and subject. Together they craft and deliver extraordinary learning experiences.
Raise expectations for teaching and learning. Propel students ahead. Join us.
Rocking it in Gotham
New York City partners with NSSI
After a successful pilot program in 2022, the largest school system in the country has partnered with NSSI again to offer an expanded program across the district. Originally conceived as a 1,000-student pilot, the partnership grew from 7,000 students in summer 2022 to 31,000 students across 126 summer sites in 2023!
Responses from participating teachers and administrators to a two-day intensive training before the school doors opened have been off the charts. 86% of teachers and 95% of administrators agreed or strongly agreed that NSSI's training prepared them for their roles this summer. One fifth-grade literature teacher applauded NSSI's discourse-based pedagogy:
"It was refreshing listening to my students' thoughts and ideas regarding the characters we met along the way. Their discussions were very rich and meaningful. They agreed and disagreed, and added on to each other’s ideas."
—Elvira Bruno, NYCDOE teacher
Transformative teacher training
"The most helpful professional development I've ever experienced."
Feedback from partners on NSSI’s summer 2023 pre-service training is glowing! 88% of teachers and 95% of administrators agreed or strongly agreed that NSSI's training prepared them for their roles this summer. One seventh-grade literature teacher shared:
NSSI's pre-service training "is the most helpful professional development I've ever experienced because it was hands-on and dynamic. I hope I get to do this again next year!"
NSSI is proudly upending expectations for what’s possible in the realm of professional development. Equipped and inspired by NSSI’s award-winning mentor teachers, they were ready to aim high—and watch their students soar.
Learn more about our uniquely effective approach to teacher development and accelerating learning.
Hear from a returning partner
"We partner with NSSI because they are 'student first.'"
One of the key factors in deciding to partner another year with NSSI was the demonstrable impact of the program, with students making gains of 15–40% in priority grade level standards assessed through pre- and post-assessments. Moreover, students, families, and teachers continue to share with us their enthusiasm for the lessons, materials, and for the emphasis on social-emotional learning. We partner with NSSI because they are 'student first.'
Dr. Jeanne Willard, Ed.D., Executive Director of College & Career Readiness and Extended Learning Options, Everett Public Schools
Expect more
Build teacher capacity.
Welcome to an entirely new approach to improving instruction.
When your teachers watch an admired mentor teacher pitch a lesson sky-high and, by lesson’s end, reliably succeed with every child, it’s a transformative experience.
They start to expect more. And their students rise to the challenge.
Watch your students soar.
The results are in.
Rapid academic gains
In summer 2022, 27,000 students got a head start on the 2022-23 school year, and 2,700 teachers geared up as never before!
In just five weeks, students made major gains in proficiency across grades and subjects. On average, math students with NSSI improved more than 15 percentage points (from pre-test to post-test), and literature students improved 10 percentage points.
In their own voices
Students love NSSI
Hear how students take intellectual risks and learn from one another in Ms. Shampain’s fourth-grade math class.
A focus on equity
Our five-part organizational commitment to leading for racial equity includes:
Rigorous curriculum that tackles texts and ideas that are at or above grade-level
Leveraging students' voices and expertise through discourse and deep thinking
Intentional connection and relationship-building, led by a diverse mentor teacher team
Psychologically safe classrooms
A culturally responsive curriculum that foregrounds and celebrates authors of color and thinkers and elevates their voices and perspectives.
The curriculum both creates windows (to learn about other countries, people, cultures, and ideas) and mirrors (to affirm the beauty and brilliance of people who are similar to our students) that are vital for young people to grow and thrive.
The data are in
New evidence for Accelerated Learning
A new study from TNTP finds that learning acceleration was far more effective than remediation in addressing skills gaps and racial inequities. TNTP cites “compelling new evidence that school systems should make learning acceleration the foundation of their academic strategies next year and beyond.”
Students who experienced learning acceleration struggled less and learned more than students who started at the same level but experienced remediation instead. Learning acceleration was particularly effective for students of color and those from low-income families.
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation sponsors 20,000 seats in Texas.
Thanks to the generous support of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, NSSI is preparing to serve Texas in a big way this summer!
The Dell Foundation, among the world’s leading education philanthropies, is committed to sponsoring 20,000 seats in Texas schools partnering with NSSI in 2022-23 and 2023-24. This support effectively eliminates cost barriers for districts and charter organizations determined to deliver academic recovery and accelerate learning. We can’t wait to team-up with Texas teachers to help every student take-off!
Ideas into action
Ian Rowe shares NSSI's innovation
See highlights of Ian Rowe's presentation at NewSchools Venture Fund Summit 2021. Joining an esteemed group for the opening plenary, in “Provocations for the Future," Ian sets out how NSSI accelerates learning and builds teacher capacity.
NSSI offers quality learning time as a solution to pandemic learning losses.
Steven Wilson shares the importance of increased quality learning time in combatting long-term consequences of the pandemic in Fortune.
“[There’s a] belief that academic learning is something to be suffered and endured, as opposed to something that can be deeply joyful and exhilarating,” Wilson said. “Kids are smart. What they’re going to feel good about is academic success, for which there will be no emotional substitute.”
“It was not like a normal summer school at all.”
Harvard and University of Virginia scholars found that students in NSSI last summer improved their academic skills and gained confidence.
I honestly felt like all of my kids, they improved. Pretty much across the board they all said, I read differently now. And I pay attention to what I read. And I'm going to be thinking about what I read and what it means for my life.
—from a summer 2020 ELA partner teacher
Hear from a partner teacher
"Astounding" growth
Hawking STEAM Charter School students take the NWEA MAP assessment three times a year. During in-school learning, the school anticipates an average of four points growth per trimester.
This trimester, my students had an average of 12.6 points growth–3X the target. This is especially astounding because the growth was even across high, middle, and low-performing students—only students with poor attendance had lower scores. Students’ scores were up across areas, including vocabulary, literature, and nonfiction. All this is particularly impressive as most students are ELLs.
Anne Barnes, 6th grade ELA teacher Hawking STEAM Charter School
As featured in national news publications
Our partner network
Join district, charter, and independent schools partnering with us to offer a singular experience next summer.
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