3 Ways To Enhance Summer School Engagement With Lexia

Research shows that student motivation wanes as the school year ends, making it difficult for teachers to foster summer school engagement. Low student motivation can lead to negative learning outcomes such as spotty attendance and lackluster academic performance, making it more difficult for students to achieve learning gains in summer programs. However, with the right teaching strategies, program design, and resources, it’s possible to re-engage struggling students and ignite their passion for learning. 

Here are some challenges you may face and solutions that can help bring empowered readers to your summer program.

Common Summer School Challenges

• Maintaining consistent attendance. Regular attendance can be challenging to maintain during the school year, but it’s just as important for students to attend programs during the summer months regularly. According to Catherine Augustine, a senior researcher at the RAND Corporation, in a recent study, about 20% of the students who enrolled in summer programs never showed up, and those who did only attended about 75% of the time. For students to benefit academically from summer programs, they need to attend at least 20 of the 25 days, and only 60% of the students in the study were able to do so. The difference in performance translates to 20%-25% of the typical annual gain in math and 20%-23% of the yearly typical gain in reading.

• Summer school programs attract students with varying needs. Students from underserved communities may already face challenges at home, which makes it more difficult to get them to recommit to schoolwork during the summer. However, a recent RAND study showed that low-income students who attend well-designed summer learning programs at high rates reap meaningful educational benefits in math and reading.

• Incentives work, but only to a certain extent. Districts have tried to motivate parents and students with gift cards, ice cream parties, and other extrinsic incentives to increase attendance. Although some incentive programs work, children are most likely to remain engaged with summer programs they enjoy.

• Recommitting to the classroom. Educators know what teacher burnout feels like—especially those working in understaffed schools. With the demands of the school year, it’s understandable that some teachers may be hesitant to commit to summer school. However, there are many benefits to consider. Smaller class sizes, flexible environments, and the ability to build relationships with new students are all reasons why some teachers say they enjoy teaching summer school. Violet Adams, a veteran teacher from Georgia, told EdWeek that teaching high school Emergent Bilinguals during the summer reignited her love for teaching. “It ended up being one of the best decisions of my life,” she said.

Strategies That Strengthen Summer School Engagement

In a recent EdWeek commentary, teachers shared how district leaders could better support staff and students as they head into summer school. You can use some of these tips to engage students and enhance their enrichment experiences.

• Take it outside. When summer school feels too much like regular school, it can replicate the same routine that causes students to feel the same academic pressure. By taking the class outside or in creative spaces, teachers can support hands-on, project-based work that students enjoy.

• Offer choice. According to Digital Promise, students are more motivated to complete a task and perform better when they engage in it themselves rather than having it chosen for them. For example, during an ELA lesson, students could be asked to write a blog post or an essay or choose from a list of stories to read.

• Limit class sizes. Small class sizes foster community, increase engagement, and boost academic achievement.

• Switch up schedules. By making your summer schedule more flexible than the school year schedule, students can get the breaks they need to recharge. Flex time allows them to interact with their peers and engage in creative activities.

• Plan with intention. Create an intentional, evidence-based curriculum that not only raises academic achievement but also encourages a growth mindset and taps into students’ intrinsic motivation or desire to engage in learning because it’s inherently satisfying. Offer tools that support the curriculum and personalized experiences. Learning tools should allow students to initially challenge themselves and demonstrate what they know about a concept, and then move on to more advanced material once they’ve mastered foundational skills. 

How Lexia Educational Technology Supports Summer Literacy Programs

When aligned with other instructional strategies, technology can accelerate learning gains. Literacy programs such as Lexia® Core5® Reading for elementary students and Lexia® PowerUp Literacy® for middle and high school students encourage students to take ownership of their learning and give summer school educators the resources needed to provide meaningful, targeted instruction. Lexia English Language Development™ supports Emergent Bilingual students’ English language acquisition through academic conversations in grades K–6. The program integrates speaking, listening, and grammar in the subjects of math, science, social studies, general knowledge, and biographies. 

The features of these tools support motivation and engagement in these ways.

1. Spark Motivation With Personalized Learning Paths

To save time and keep students interested in learning, they shouldn’t repeat the material they’ve already mastered during the school year. Instead, teachers should assess what they know and introduce new concepts to close targeted learning gaps. With Lexia’s personalized learning solutions, students can complete activities in specific skill areas, allowing them to build on their knowledge and accelerate reading proficiency. At the same time, Lexia’s engaging digital and extended activities keep them interested in progressing to the next level.

• As elementary students progress through Core5's levels, they take a virtual journey around the world. Each level represents a different region, and students are introduced to new characters representing each region. Students can decide which skills and activities they want to work on within each level, allowing them to be self-directed in their learning as they move through the program and their journey around the world.

• For students in grades 6–12, PowerUp provides a more age-appropriate interface that allows them to progress independently to higher literacy levels with more complex content based on skill mastery. Adolescent students can choose which activities to complete as they work through a rigorous scope and sequence. 

• Adolescents who have difficulty reading need extra motivation to feel confident and take risks. Research suggests students are more motivated when they can monitor their own progress. To incentivize progress, students can view their progress on personalized dashboards in Lexia® programs.

• Core5, PowerUp, and Lexia English give students personalized feedback, helping them feel valued and confident in their abilities. As students complete online activities in these programs, they get real-time performance data through Lexia’s patented Assessment Without Testing®, an embedded assessment tool that allows teachers to access online reports through their myLexia® accounts via browser, iPad app, or iPhone app. At the same time, teachers receive data-driven insights into the skills individual students and student groups need to build.

2. Incentivize With Tools That Promote Positive Classroom Cultures

Summer school programs, similar to regular classrooms, often attract students from historically underserved backgrounds and communities. That’s why it’s crucial to incorporate culturally responsive teaching best practices that use an asset model to guide classroom instruction, recognizing that students’ background knowledge and native languages play an important role in their literacy acquisition. This gives all students, including Emergent Bilinguals, a chance to succeed. 

• Lexia English helps Emergent Bilinguals build literacy skills through an asset-based approach. It incorporates culturally responsive pedagogies that support individualized learning paths for each learner. The program celebrates learners’ achievements, providing encouragement, confidence, and a sense of belonging. 

• Lexia supports student agency and a growth mindset, giving students a choice over their path and awareness and ownership of performance and progress. The program encourages students by providing a safe place to try, fail, and retry lessons.

• Lexia enables students to work at their own pace while receiving targeted support based on their individual skill levels. 
  
  

3. Enhance Engagement Through Technology

Not all technology is created equal. Educational technology tools should always complement high-quality teaching and should never be viewed as a replacement for face-to-face instruction. At the same time, the right learning tools can encourage a growth mindset, improve literacy skills, and set students up for success in the next school year. 

Lexia technology tools are effective due to their evidence-based design, adaptive learning capabilities, and focus on personalized instruction. 

• Lexia blends online activities with teacher-led instruction. The program adjusts in real-time based on a student’s performance, providing personalized lessons and focusing on specific skill gaps. Lexia Skill Builders®, printable activities designed to reinforce literacy skills, are available in Core5 and PowerUp. Teachers can assign these to support small-group work or one-on-one interventions.

• Most summer programs last only six to eight weeks. Research shows Lexia is more time-efficient than traditional reading interventions, delivering strong results with less teacher time per student. Because it’s accessible in different learning environments, Lexia fits well into summer classes.

• Celebrating success is intrinsically linked to motivation and engagement. Research shows when students are motivated and engaged in their learning, they tend to perform considerably higher academically than disengaged students. (Fredericks et al., 2004). Core5 and PowerUp give teachers opportunities to recognize student achievement throughout the summer. Students receive certificates after they complete a level in each program and elementary students receive a completion certificate when they complete all of Core5. When students achieve their goals, Lexia celebrates their milestones by providing virtual rewards and acknowledgment for their achievements, helping to make summer learning fun. 

Learn how you can integrate Lexia’s literacy tools into your summer school curriculum to increase engagement and boost reading proficiency.

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