What Will Summer Look Like? Summer Learning Loss and COVID-19 Learning Gaps

Authors

  • Matthew Boulay
  • Elizabeth McChesney

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.19.2.3

Abstract

Summer 2021 will likely look much different than previous summers due to the impact of the now more than one-year-long pandemic.

Here we share research about summer learning loss and overlap that with emerging studies illustrating how COVID-19 closures and remote learning have compounded learning loss, all of which disproportionately impacts Black children, indigenous children, children of color, and all children who live in poverty.

Author Biographies

Matthew Boulay

Dr. Matthew Boulay is the founder of the National Summer Learning Association, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Baltimore. A former elementary school teacher in New York City, Boulay earned a PhD in Sociology and Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College and was recently named one of the 25 most influential people in out-of-school time learning. A former Marine and veteran of the war in Iraq, Boulay lives in Oregon with his wife and two children. Boulay recently published How To Keep Your Kids Learning When Schools Are Closed, an e-book that aims to provide practical advice to parents who are asking urgent questions about how best to support, nurture, and educate their children during periods of social distancing and quarantine.

Elizabeth McChesney

Elizabeth McChesney serves in several roles including Senior Advisor in Educational Equity Initiatives at the Urban Libraries Council. In 2015, she won the LJ Movers and Shakers Award for transforming summer reading to summer learning, starting a national movement in libraries. She went on to earn NSLA’s First Founder’s Award for Excellence in Summer Learning and the John Cotton Dana Award. She is the 2021 recipient of the ALSC Distinguished Service Award. Liz chairs the ALSC Task Force on Summer Learning and Out of School Time Learning and has co-authored <em>Summer Matters: Making All Learning Count</em> (ALA Editions, 2017); <em>Pairing STEAM with Stories </em>(ALA Editions, 2020), and <em>Keke’s Super-Strong Double Hugs</em> (Archway, 2020).

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Published

2021-06-04

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 2 (2021): Summer

Section

Features

License

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