For the fourth summer in a row, Ypsilanti Community Schools in southeast Michigan鈥檚 Washtenaw County is operating Grizzly Learning Camp, a free seven-week summer learning program for students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. Like traditional summer school programs, it offers academics. But, as its name suggests, it doesn鈥檛 feel like a traditional summer school.
鈥淭he students aren鈥檛 sitting in a row in the classrooms,鈥� said Alena Zachery-Ross, the superintendent in Ypsilanti, located outside of Ann Arbor.
The academics, driven by project-based learning, might include staging poetry slams, learning math from a teacher who uses rap as a vehicle for instruction, or exploring the outdoors to learn about invasive plant species. This summer, 1,423 students鈥攎ore than a third of the district鈥檚 student body鈥攊s participating in the popular program, which boasts an attendance rate of over 80 percent. It鈥檚 also boosting some academic performance numbers in the district, whose reading and math scores, as well as its graduation rate, rank among the lowest in the state.
But despite its popularity and success, the summer learning camp鈥檚 future is uncertain. Its funding comes largely from federal COVID relief money鈥攁id set to expire this fall.
鈥淲ith this program, we鈥檙e closing the learning gap,鈥� said Zachery-Ross. 鈥淭he momentum continues over the summer if students engage [in summer learning]. But with funding going away, we鈥檒l have to balance this with competing needs that we have during the school year. That鈥檚 the challenge.鈥�
It鈥檚 a predicament that鈥檚 likely to resonate with school systems across the nation.
An estimated 8 in 10 school districts have spent some of their federal COVID relief money on after-school or summer learning, according to a 2023 report by the nonprofit , which advocates for after-school programs. COVID relief fund spending on summer programming amounted to $2.4 billion among 4,618 districts whose budgets were publicly available, according to the alliance鈥檚 report. (There are about 13,000 school districts nationwide, and they collectively received about $190 billion in COVID relief funds, split into three rounds.)
Ypsilanti鈥檚 summer learning program costs $1.7 million to operate annually. The bulk of funding comes from ESSER money, with the help of a supplemental grant. So as this season鈥檚 Grizzly Learning Camp approaches its midpoint, administrators are thinking ahead to next summer and what they will have to trim from the robust program to keep it going without ESSER.
The switch from traditional summer school to a learning 鈥榗amp鈥� was intentional
Before the pandemic, Ypsilanti had a traditional summer school program that was a requirement for students who were struggling academically. It also had a negative stigma attached to it, according to Zachery-Ross.
After schools reopened following pandemic closures, the district changed its approach, seeking to deliver a summer learning program that would engage all students in learning recovery. The result was Grizzly Summer Learning Camp.
鈥淲e call it camp instead of school,鈥� said Zachery-Ross. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 intentional.鈥�
So, too, is how the camp runs.
Academics are central. Daily, students write in journals, read, and do math. But it doesn鈥檛 always look like traditional learning, Zachery-Ross said.
While it鈥檚 difficult to gauge the program鈥檚 overall impact on academic recovery, the district鈥檚 limited data indicate some positive trends. Third grade reading scores for students attending camp have shown modest increases. And, since the camp鈥檚 inception, participating high school students have recovered approximately 515 credits (for reference, most districts in Michigan require at least 18 to graduate).
Local partnerships鈥攚ith the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History, Eastern Michigan University, the Michigan Learning Channel, a local farm, the Henry Ford Museum, Toyota, and others鈥攃reate opportunities for field trips and guest visits at the learning camp.
At the end of each week, students take field trips that connect with what they鈥檝e learned during the week.
鈥淲e really try to partner with all the people in our community to make these hands-on things possible,鈥� Zachery-Ross said.
The district faces tough choices: how to pare back a popular program
While the district keeps the entire program free for students, the offerings don鈥檛 come cheap.
In addition to field trip costs, other camp expenses include students鈥� daily transportation, two meals each day plus snacks, and higher-than-average teacher pay ($40 per hour).
鈥淲e鈥檙e pushing the [ESSER] funding all the way to the end to cover the camp this summer. This is it,鈥� said Zachery-Ross. 鈥淪ome of the things we offer can be scaled back, but some of it we really want to keep.鈥�
The district is grappling with how it can trim some costs from the summer program while keeping it in operation.
Free transportation to and from camp, held at school campuses throughout the 3,700-student district, may need to go, explained Zachery-Ross.
This likely would leave some students unable to participate. Some field trips may be eliminated, too, cutting back on learning opportunities that excite students.
One of the camp鈥檚 popular trips has been to the Toledo Zoo, an hour鈥檚 bus ride away. That transportation cost, along with zoo admission, however, may not be sustainable, Zachery-Ross said.
Reducing the number of grade levels eligible to attend the camp is yet another cost-saving measure under consideration.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making some really hard decisions,鈥� Zachery-Ross said.
Summer programming nationwide faces an uncertain future post-ESSER
In a 2023 of 650 superintendents across 47 states, more than half of the district leaders said they planned to decrease or eliminate enrichment and summer-learning offerings at the start of the 2024-25 school year, corresponding with the deadline for committing the last and largest round of ESSER funds.
In some ways, Ypsilanti could be well-positioned to keep its summer camp running.
In its 2023 on the use of ESSER funds for summer and after-school programming, the Afterschool Alliance suggested strategies for keeping summer programming going after ESSER. Among them were leveraging community partners and planning ahead鈥攂oth tactics Ypsilanti already has employed.
鈥淲e knew the cliff was coming,鈥� Zachery-Ross said. 鈥淭he planning for the next year starts the day after the camp ends.鈥�
