Ensuring outstanding live instruction, every day
Teaching Tools
The National Summer School Initiative equips your teachers with exceptional resources—everything they need to lead classes focused on critical thinking and intellectual discovery.
Rigorous, Relevant, and Engaging Curriculum Our curriculum inspires learning by combining rigor with real-world relevance and student engagement.
In math, we take a two-pronged approach: students develop problem-solving skills as they tackle new tasks and build fluency and automaticity through thoughtfully interleaved practice. In ELA, exceptional books lie at the heart of the program. By reading these novels, students critique diverse viewpoints, strengthen their writing, and deepen their understanding of the world.
For our youngest readers in Kindergarten - 2nd grade, the ELA program features two key components: Foundational Skills and Knowledge Building. In the Foundational Skills block, students practice decoding, encoding, and phonemic awareness, laying the foundation to become proficient readers. The Knowledge Building block focuses on broadening students’ vocabulary and deepening their content knowledge, helping them engage with texts more meaningfully and analyze ideas with confidence.
From early elementary to advanced learners, our curriculum challenges and empowers students, equipping them with the skills and insights they need to succeed.
I loved hearing my students talk about the novel we read during breakfast and lunch! My students were always engaged with the novel. — 4th Grade ELA Teacher, Seminole County Public Schools
Empowering Teachers, Engaging Students
Daily overviews
Our daily overviews strike the perfect balance between structure and flexibility, giving teachers the tools to lead lessons while staying responsive to student thinking and contributions. Each overview includes the key concepts, understandings, and anticipated student responses necessary for effective intellectual preparation.
In ELA, lessons incorporate vocabulary, text-based questions, discussion prompts, and writing tasks that encourage students to explore deeper meanings. In math, lessons feature story problems, comprehension questions, and multiple strategies to foster problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding.
Designed to support teachers and enrich student learning, our daily overviews make every classroom moment count.
I love the rigor! I didn't think my kids could handle it but they stepped up. They are really producing good work. - Olyvia Kozicki, St. Augustine Prep
Flow decks
The flow deck contains, in one place, everything the teacher needs to prepare for the lesson and readily deliver it:
intellectual preparation and background
likely student misconceptions
examples of exemplary student work in the lesson
question sequences
student-facing slides
embedded video segments of the Mentor Teacher's delivery that can be played in class
It was super helpful to have all that work done for me. I had the videos and slides. The National Summer School Initiative built the plane and I got to fly it. –Quincy Barnes, 4th grade ELA, Hawking STEAM
Learn by Watching Excellence
Mentor Teachers
One of the most effective ways to master teaching is by observing great teachers in action. A cornerstone of our training is the analysis of live classroom videos, enabling teachers to grasp the flow of each lesson while unpacking key strategies and best practices that maximize impact.
While we provide a few full-length videos for deeper insights, our training primarily focuses on bite-sized video clips. These targeted clips make it easy for teachers to hone specific skills and confidently implement high-impact teaching practices in their own classrooms.
My mentor teacher was so transparent. She would tell us about mistakes she made during the lesson and what to do instead. I always followed her suggestions.
—Avery Koosman, 3rd grade ELA, St. Augustine Prep
Tools for Visible Thinking
Student Workbooks
Our student workbooks for ELA and math empower students to make their thinking visible—whether they’re crafting written responses to text-based questions or demonstrating the steps behind a math solution. These materials are thoughtfully designed for all grades and subjects, providing students with the space and structure to engage deeply with their learning.
For students who need additional support, we offer differentiated versions of the workbooks. These include more visuals, writing scaffolds, and pictures with definitions for challenging vocabulary, ensuring every learner has the tools to succeed.
I really liked the program because I got a lot of chances to put my ideas into the conversation. I never felt shy about asking questions. Sometimes when I got stuck she gave me sentence starters and that really helped me get my ideas out. I know I’m a better writer.
– Aniston Clemings, 8th grade student, Ben Holt College Preparatory School
National Summer School Initiative, Inc. 147 Prince Street, 3-54 Brooklyn, NY 11201
© National Summer School Initiative 2025