Almost 30,000 Dallas ISD students participated in this year’s Summer Breeze program.
The initiative, led by Extended Learning Opportunities, offers various enrichment programs across Dallas ISD campuses, from credit recovery and tutoring to day camps, like chess, cheer, dance, robotics, and more.
Merrill Devenshire, director of Extended Learning Opportunities, said parents and students alike benefit from the opportunities offered by Summer Breeze.
“For parents, it provides programming that is free of cost, meals and transportation that is included, and the assurance that students are engaged in a safe environment with a variety of activities that are available for two full months,” he said. “For students, Summer Breeze programming allows them to grow both academically and socially.”
To choose what is offered throughout the two months, organizers send surveys out to stakeholders, and the results help inform what will be offered in the next summer program. The district also uses assessment data to identify what subjects are areas of need in the district.
Many fulfill legislative requirements for tutoring, early learning, and special needs, Devenshire said.
By offering courses and programs that supplement learning while school is in session, Summer Breeze also helps prepare students for the upcoming year, Devenshire said.
“Students can explore an academic curriculum that helps minimize learning loss over the summer and an enrichment curriculum that exposes them to extracurricular activities and clubs available to them at the campus throughout the school year,” he said.
Summer Breeze started in 2021, with 17,800 students signed up for the first year. For the summer of 2024, the number of students participating in Summer Breeze increased to 27,300.
Recently, Extended Learning Opportunities released the Summer Breeze 2024 report which breaks down the programs by category, how many students participated, and feedback from both students and parents.
Summer Breeze received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with parents saying they noticed positive social-emotional changes and academic improvements.
“The most rewarding part of being involved with the program is being able to visit all of the different sites and see first-hand the amount of fun that students and teachers are having while engaged in learning,” Devenshire said. “Knowing that we have helped to close some of the equity and opportunity gaps while providing a valuable service to parents makes all of the planning and preparation worthwhile.”
Looking toward the future, Devenshire hopes the program will be a lasting legacy for Dallas ISD.
“My hope is that Summer Breeze simply continues to grow and expand,” he said. I hope that we are able to create even more memorable and lasting experiences and make them available to all students across Dallas ISD.”
To read stories about Summer Breeze 2024, see links below:
