California’s grim economic environment has hit public summer school programs hard, to the detriment of the most disadvantaged students. At the same time, several districts are expanding their programs and others are innovating in some surprising ways.

That’s some of what EdSource learned when we set out to answer the question of exactly how hard summer programs were being hit.

For this report, EdSource staff conducted a telephone survey of California’s 30 largest school districts in July 2011 and asked about the summer programs they were offering.

Their answers might surprise you. Download the report to see what we found.

For a quick look at the programs offered in all 30 districts, you can also download the summary table by itself.

This EdSource InSight Report represents a new kind of EdSource publication that will answer such specific and timely questions. We’d love to know what you think! 

Want to know more about the stories behind the research?

Our accompanying article provides an interesting and multi-faceted portrait of what school districts did this last summer to try to serve their most struggling students. You can also watch a video that captures students learning and enjoying their summer, all at the same time.