The National Summer School Initiative (NSSI)

In summer 2024, thousands of like-minded educators joined forces with NSSI to deliver extraordinary learning experiences across the nation. From its inaugural summer in 2020 with 12,000 students, NSSI’s impact has vastly expanded—now preparing 82,000 students to thrive in the 2024-25 school year. Guided by NSSI’s expert mentors, 4,250 teachers and 715 school leaders sharpened their instructional skills and helped their students achieve meaningful academic gains. Across grades, the average class score from pre- to post-assessment increased by 12 percentage points in ELA and by 24 percentage points in math. In partnership, we’re reimagining teaching and learning. Read our full Summer 2024 Impact Report below to learn how!

After a national search that drew an extraordinary level of interest, the Board of Trustees is excited to announce that Nancy Livingston, will lead NSSI as chief executive officer. Nancy succeeds Steven Wilson, who cofounded NSSI in 2020 to accelerate learning and develop teacher capacity. Nancy was most recently chief of schools for KIPP Nashville Public Schools where she strengthened professional learning, increased teacher retention, expanded the central academic team, and, during the pandemic, developed the network’s virtual learning program. We welcome her leadership as NSSI enters its next chapter of growth and impact!

This summer with NSSI, 82,000 students got a head start on the 2024-25 school year, and more than 5,000 teachers and school leaders came together to prepare their students to thrive! Teachers overwhelmingly agreed that NSSI's curriculum set them up for success in the classroom. In our end-of-session surveys, teachers responded to the statement, "The curriculum and lesson materials provided by NSSI are strong" with an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 points. A sixth-grade ELA teacher from NYCPS shared, "You can tell NSSI's curriculum was designed by educators who care and understand how to engage students with thought-provoking and inspiring texts. The passion and commitment to teaching is evident in the lesson plans. I simply followed the lead." It's been an extraordinary summer—and we look forward to serving still more students, teachers, and school leaders with our scalable program for accelerated learning and professional development in 2025!

Teachers and school leaders were overwhelmingly satisfied with the quality of NSSI's summer 2024 specialized pre-service trainings. One highlight? NSSI's award-winning Mentors. Across the board, teachers and leaders reported that NSSI's Mentor Teachers were engaging and knowledgeable. One teacher shared, “The Mentors were so supportive. They were patient and precise and upbeat—they made training worthwhile." Another teacher wrote "The pacing of each session was great—my Mentor really gave us time to discuss and provide meaningful feedback. I appreciated how we talked through different challenges and how we can uplift our students to meet their potential. Such enjoyable sessions!"

Meet the team of award-winning educators who have come together this summer to partner with teachers and leaders nationwide to deliver learning experiences that transcend the ordinary. Introducing Caroline Roth, returning for her third summer as an ELA Mentor Teacher at NSSI! Caroline began her career with Teach For America in Los Angeles, teaching high school English as a second language. After teaching middle school history and English, she returned to her hometown of New York City, where she taught seventh-grade English with Achievement First Endeavor Middle School and was named a Distinguished Teacher. As the school's ELA and history academic dean and principal-in-residence, Caroline led her team through the transition to Common Core standards and a 25 percentage point increase in student proficiency on the state’s ELA assessment. She then served as the school’s principal for five years; the school posted double-digit proficiency gains in both ELA and math. Today, Caroline is an educational consultant, specializing in school leader and teacher coaching and professional development. She earned her B.A in English from Dartmouth College and her M.A from Loyola Marymount University.

Working at The National Summer School Initiative (NSSI) over the summer has been a joy!! Great program and great leaders!

Last month, teachers and school leaders took part in specialized pre-service trainings to prepare them to deliver accelerated teaching this summer. Equipped and inspired by NSSI’s award-winning Mentor Teachers, they are ready to aim high—and watch their students soar. Read the full story in our newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eKbHHtc8

Teachers and school leaders were overwhelmingly satisfied with the quality of NSSI's summer 2024 specialized pre-service trainings—designed to deeply prepare them to deliver the program's curricula and master accelerated teaching methods. A teacher from Forte Prep shared, "There was a clear goal and objective for each session and the time was used well. I enjoyed that the sessions were interactive!" A teacher from First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter wrote, "I enjoyed that this was fast-paced and I didn't feel like any part of it was just to fill the time. It was quality over quantity."

Meet the team of award-winning educators who have come together this summer to partner with teachers and leaders nationwide to deliver learning experiences that transcend the ordinary. Introducing Brian Johnson, one of NSSI's summer 2024 ELA Mentor Teachers. Brian’s career began teaching high school math with Teach For America at Thurgood Marshall Academy in New York City. He then was a founding eighth-grade math teacher at KIPP Infinity Middle School, where he received several teaching awards. Brian was a semi-finalist for the U.S. Department of Education Classroom Teaching Ambassador Fellowship for moving students beyond two years of growth in math and ELA for over a decade. A recipient of the The Sontag Prize in Urban Education, he studied pedagogy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and taught at-risk students in Boston. In 2023, Brian presented a TED-Ed Talk on student engagement and culture. Brian holds a B.A. in marketing from University of Kentucky, a M.S.T. in adolescent education from Pace University and an advanced certification in special education from St. Rose College.

End-of-session surveys from our first Leader Insitute of summer 2024 yielded exciting feedback: ☑ 94% of participating school leaders agreed or strongly agreed that session presenters were engaging and knowledgeable. ☑ 90% of participating school leaders agreed or strongly agreed that Institute helped them feel prepared to lead summer school. ☑ 91% of participating school leaders agreed or strongly agreed that Institute was a valuable use of their time.