In this report, the authors use findings from a survey administered to a nationally representative sample of kindergarten through grade 12 public school districts to investigate the prevalence and quality of districts’ programming in summers 2023 and 2024. The report is part of a series that provides brief analyses of district leader viewpoints on topics of immediate interest to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

Districts Continue to Invest in Summer Programs

Selected Findings from the American School District Panel

Melissa Kay Diliberti, Samantha E. DiNicola, Heather L. Schwartz

ResearchPublished Apr 23, 2025

Summer programs have historically been a staple in public school districts’ arsenals to help students keep up academically and recover from summer break–related academic setbacks. In addition to academic support, summer programs may have a positive impact on students’ physical and mental health, development of interests, and development of social and life skills. The importance of quality summer programs has intensified in recent years because it has been one of two main ways (along with tutoring) that districts across the United States have used to help students recover from academic setbacks related to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

In this report, the authors investigate the prevalence of school districts’ summer programs using data from surveys administered in 2023 and 2024 to nationally representative samples of kindergarten through grade 12 public school districts. The authors also gauge whether districts’ summer 2024 programs—no matter the grade levels of students served—adhere to National Summer Learning Project recommendations and discuss anticipated funding concerns for future district summer programming. The report is part of a series that provides brief analyses of district leader viewpoints on topics of immediate interest to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

Key Findings

  • Eighty-four percent of school districts nationally offered programs in summer 2024—a percentage that is on par with the percentage of districts that offered programs in summer 2023.
  • Although districts’ largest summer programs were typically free for families and offered at least three hours of academic instruction daily, only about one-third of districts’ largest summer programs met the other recommended academic quality indicators (e.g., district-prepared lesson plans, instruction delivered by district teachers who taught the same grade level and subject as they taught during the school year).
  • In both summer 2023 and 2024, urban districts offered more summer programs than their suburban and rural counterparts and offered programs that met more quality indicators.
  • About one-half of districts (56 percent) anticipate a decrease in funds for programs in summer 2025.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Diliberti, Melissa Kay, Samantha E. DiNicola, and Heather L. Schwartz, Districts Continue to Invest in Summer Programs: Selected Findings from the American School District Panel, RAND Corporation, RR-A956-32, 2025. As of April 30, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-32.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Diliberti, Melissa Kay, Samantha E. DiNicola, and Heather L. Schwartz, Districts Continue to Invest in Summer Programs: Selected Findings from the American School District Panel. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-32.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

This research was commissioned by The Wallace Foundation and conducted by RAND Education and Labor.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. All users of the publication are permitted to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and transform and build upon the material, including for any purpose (including commercial) without further permission or fees being required.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.