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William Penn reports strong summer-enrichment attendance; research to measure academic impact
Summary
District staff described partnerships with Camp Rock and Camp Kaboom, attendance and assessment coverage from June 30–July 31 programming, and research questions to evaluate whether the program reduced summer learning loss and improved longer-term outcomes.
Ed Dunn, supervisor of mathematics K–12 for the William Penn School District, and Michael McArthur, supervisor of research and evaluation, presented an overview of the district's summer enrichment program at the education committee meeting on Oct. 8.
Dunn said the district partnered with Camp Rock (rising K–2) and Camp Kaboom (grades 3–6) for a full-day summer program that ran June 30–July 31. The district operated the programs at two campus sites — Evans Elementary for Camp Rock and the Ninth Grade Academy for Camp Kaboom — to give each program space while keeping sites convenient for families with children in multiple grade bands.
A total of 474 students registered for the summer-enrichment programs; 407 students attended at least once, and the average attendance rate was 78%. Staff said 95% of attendees had at least one academic progress-monitoring point recorded, and 85% had assessment scores available in math and English language arts. "We ran a program from the June, June 30 to the July, July 31. And that was a full day program," Dunn said.
McArthur described the research the district will pursue using fall screener data and year-long assessment data. He said the district will measure whether participants experienced less of a summer slide in math and ELA, whether participating students show higher average growth across the school year, and whether the program affected subsequent attendance. McArthur said the district will disaggregate results by demographic groups to check for equitable access and outcomes.
"What I mean is the academic performance of students in the spring often drops when they, we measure their their baseline performance in the fall," McArthur said, describing the "summer slide" the research aims to quantify and, he added, to reduce.
No vote or policy decision was taken; staff said they will complete analyses through the end of the school year and return findings to the committee.
