Summer slide and learning loss has been talked about in education circles for decades. It is based on real data showing what students forget partially or completely during school breaks, especially during the longer summer break. Never has this concern been more significant than during the pandemic, when students learning loss over the past year is likely more than we’ve seen in a generation.

Oklahoma City Public Schools leadership has worked very intentionally to plan summer school sessions that offer more opportunities for students than ever before. The summer program is called Jump In, and has several options for students to engage.

All OKCPS students in all grades have the opportunity to Jump In to Enrichment, with numerous virtual experiences available for educational activities through the Canvas learning platform, STEAM activities, and the ReadOKC Summer Reading Challenge.

Student athletes going into grades 6-12 can Jump In to Athletics through a variety of camps and strength conditioning clinics. There are also opportunities available for students to attend summer camps paid for by OKCPS and/or supported by numerous community partners.

The Jump In to Enhancement segment is likely the most valuable piece of all. Four thousand OKCPS students have been invited to attend in- person English Language Arts and Math focused summer learning sessions at one of ten sites across the district. Enhancement sessions will also work with high school students on credit recovery. Thirty- five bus routes will be running and meal service will be available for all students participating in this portion of summer school.

Calling this plan intentional doesn’t really do it justice. Many smart minds have been working on planning this for months. Many community partners have stepped in to offer services. The most impressive thing of all are the hundreds of teachers, bus drivers, student nutrition services workers and other support staff who have stepped up and offered to spend time with their students instead of taking a summer break. This after going through what has been an incredibly difficult year. Anyone who has ever questioned the dedication of our educators is invited to please think again.