A Model for Success: Community-Based Summer Programming in Madison, WI

A Mayor and a Superintendent Walk Into a Summer Classroom...

“Which one of you is the Mayor and who is the Superintendent?” asked Aubrey, a curious 9-year-old, as the guests walked into her classroom at the Bayview Foundation.

It was quickly sorted out who was who. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard visited Aubrey’s classroom on their first stop on a tour of community-based summer learning programs in celebration of National Summer Learning Week.

“The City and MMSD have a vested interest in ensuring that every young person in our community has summer learning opportunities,” said Rhodes-Conway.

Through large windows at the Bayview Foundation, letting the summer sunshine in, students' parents and grandparents tended the community garden and elders walked beside a mural. You’re reminded that this place is more than a summer learning program—it is home.

In the classroom, the mayor and superintendent fielded policy questions and calls to add more recess and nap time in schools. After answering the students’ questions, the special guests had requests for their autographs.

Summer Learning for All

Maydm was the next stop on the tour. The organization has the bold goal to “change the face of STEM.” What appears to be a unique warehouse, tucked downtown in between sets of train tracks, reveals a beautiful room full of Black and Brown teens designing, prototyping and programming their own innovations - with a 3D printer whirring in the background.

“These teens are inventing and building, solving real problems from product waste to how to push video game buttons faster,” Gothard said. “The students we met confidently told us about their inventions, and, more importantly, they described how and when they failed – understanding that it was an opportunity to learn and improve. These students hold aspirations every young person deserves.”

Thanks to funding from the City of Madison, these teens are paid; and thanks to MMSD, they get experiential learning credit.

“We believe in Maydm’s vision and their capacity to accomplish it,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Students can dream big because of the support they see around them from Maydm.”

Collaboration Through Play

At the last tour stop, the Goodman Community Center, a group of third graders were just starting lunch. They ate family style, passing food to each other and offering the mayor and superintendent oranges. Students happily chatted, with Henry and Lucas discussing an impressive water slide discovered on a recent field trip with community center staff

Well-fed and excited by the busy visit, the group was eager to get back to playing. One young learner, Lucia, persuaded Dr. Gothard to try out the class fort. The fort was built for kids under 4’ and couldn’t hold Dr. Gothard’s tall 6’6” frame – it quickly toppled down, but the students were excited to rebuild it.

“We shared more than a meal with these children; we shared laughter and connection,” Dr. Gothard said. “It was a gift to be allowed into the community they had built.”

Building Community Inside the Classroom and Out

High-quality summer learning and enrichment opportunities are more important than ever. However, these sites across Madison go beyond learning – they are places of joy and community. Kids are empowered to take risks and try again, feel comfortable making friends and building connections, and can explore new interests.

“These are places that every kid deserves each summer, places that we should do everything we can to protect and expand,” said Rhodes-Conway.

These are places that every kid deserves each summer, places that we should do everything we can to protect and expand.

The City invests in neighborhood centers and community-based youth programs. MMSD offers a summer semester; additional experiential summer programming in arts and career/technical education; provides thousands of students with important summer camp opportunities through its recreation department, Madison School & Community Recreation; and partners to offer support to community-based organizations.

Together, the city and school district lead an Out-of-School Time intermediary, Madison Out-of-School Time (MOST). MOST provides infrastructure for the field and works toward a vision where all young people have access to opportunities.

This year, MOST established a collaboration between MMSD summer semester programming and the Bayview Foundation. Bayview hired MMSD teachers to deliver academic content four hours a day, then students had summer camp style programming the other four hours each day. This collaboration allowed students to receive summer instruction, which counts toward the district’s summer school enrollment.

“Community-based summer learning programs extend the work we do at MMSD to ensure every student has access to high-quality opportunities outside of the school day and over the summer,” Dr. Gothard said.

To learn more about MOST, contact Nathan Beck, MOST Coordinator, at nbeck3@madison.k12.wi.us or nbeck@cityofmadison.com.