ABSTRACT
Until recently, the summer offerings of most major school systems were an array of small and diverse programs, such as remedial or accelerated summer school classes or programs for special populations. Although such efforts provided supplemental opportunities, they were not viewed as core elements of school systems’ instructional programs or reform initiatives. In 1996, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began a national trend by including a required summer program, Summer Bridge, as a central component in the system’s efforts to end social promotion. Over the past several years, mandatory summer programs have expanded rapidly as school administrators struggle with how to provide extra support for students to meet the demands of high-stakes testing. In 1999, New York, Detroit, Boston, and Washington, DC, as well as many states, ran large mandatory summer programs (Johnston, 2000; Mathews, 2000).
