Stand Together community helps students tackle Covid-19 learning losses in new partnership

Stand Together Trust Announces $1 million investment in newly developed “National Summer School Initiative”

ARLINGTON, VA – Stand Together Trust, part of the Stand Together community dedicated to removing barriers in education, business, communities, and government, announced a $1 million investment as part of a partnership with the National Summer School Initiative (NSSI). The NSSI is a newly created summer school model designed to provide students access to some of the best teachers from around the country, who are partnered with local educators that provide the direct support and engagement students need. 

As COVID-19 swept the nation, nearly every school suspended in-classroom education, impacting nearly all 55.6 million students. While some families were able to adjust, and some schools adapted swiftly, many others struggled. The Center on Reinventing Public Education reports that just 13 percent of the districts it surveyed provided curriculum, instruction, and progress monitoring, and 75 percent of districts provided no instruction at all, merely access to limited curriculum and educational resources.  

To address the expected learning losses, the NSSI was developed as a new summer school model aimed at upending the notions of traditional summer school with a new vision for what summer school can be: The very best teachers in the country providing engaging, content-rich, deep-thinking education experience for students, with talented partner teachers providing students with direct support and engagement. The five-week online program began on June 29 and runs through July 31.

Stand Together Trust is proud to act as the lead investor in NSSI, ensuring this model has the financial support to develop its curriculum, recruit and train educators, and partner with local schools and youth organizations across the country. 

“We’re encouraged by the innovations we’ve seen across America during the COVID-19 crisis to help kids continue to learn outside traditional classrooms,” said Meredith Olson, vice president of K-12 initiatives at Stand Together. “This partnership between Stand Together Trust and NSSI will provide students and teachers with the support and tools to thrive outside the classroom this summer.” 

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