Expanding Educational Opportunities: Three Models for Extended Summer Enrichment Programs in Massachusetts. White Paper No. 171

While there are many causes at the root of the academic achievement gap between high- and low-income students, one that is seldom acknowledged is summer learning loss, which disproportionally affects low-income and minority students. With a wide achievement gap across all regions of Massachusetts, private schools in the commonwealth should consider offering summer enrichment programs, which have been shown to promote student achievement, to underserved students as a tool to combat this trend. This paper compares the costs and tuition at typical summer programs run by elite private schools to "mission-based" programs that actively recruit disadvantaged students to offer high-quality, longer-term educational experiences. Findings indicate that elite schools often offer single-summer day programs for $5,500 or more per student for five weeks of instruction, while programming at other schools that extend the program for twelve months, multiple summers or multiple full years can operate at less than half the cost. Not only are these expanded programs cost-efficient, but they fulfill a mission to educate underprivileged students who are most at-risk for summer learning loss.