Every June, a common worry resurfaces in households across the country: how can I give my child a needed break, while not sacrificing the academic progress made this year? Decades of research into the “summer slide” suggest that students return to school in the fall scoring, on average, about a month behind where they left off in the spring.
As it turns out, the most accessible antidote to this phenomenon is also one of the most overlooked. Roughly 95% of U.S. public libraries run free summer reading programs, alongside STEM workshops, story times, and tutoring.
They are quietly doing some of the most important learning work of the year, and they underscore a truth we tend to lose sight of—that a child’s education is never confined to a classroom.
Even during the school year, library-based enrichment programs are part of an expanding ecosystem of learning that families are increasingly leaning into. Today, more than 10 million students participate in after-school programs every year (another 19 million would sign up if more opportunities were available).
Among other things, the data point suggests a shift in how families think about learning—less about one building and more about finding the right combination of experiences that help their children thrive.
A more robust and complete system
Today’s educational landscape encompasses tutoring, after-school programs, public library resources, physical activity, and alternative educational models, such as microschools.
You can see it playing out in neighborhoods everywhere: A sixth-grader finishes classes at the local middle school, then heads to the library for a coding workshop. Nearby, his younger brother joins an after-school karate program, while their older sister participates in a theater club at a community center.
These aren’t simply extracurriculars. They are critical learning experiences that strengthen social skills, creativity and imagination while also facilitating important opportunities for team-building and critical thinking.
In fact, many childhood development experts argue that the most important experiences for the development of school-aged children don’t happen during the school day at all.
Yet, when parents search for information about opportunities, they wind up down a rabbit hole with dozens of browser tabs open and no central place to compare options. That’s a problem worth solving.
Families need a centralized way to see and evaluate the full range of experiences that shape their children’s learning—not just the school down the street, but the libraries, programs, and community resources around it.
Expanding the definition of educational opportunity means recognizing the full range of environments that contribute to children’s growth. Just as schools are increasingly adopting “portrait of a graduate” models to define the essential skills, knowledge and dispositions students should possess upon graduation to succeed in life, states, districts, and the federal government should expand the scope of educational experiences to reflect access to enriching, meaningful learning opportunities both in and beyond school walls.
Doing so will require surfacing “out-of-system” information about programs offered by libraries, nonprofits, and educational entrepreneurs, as well as finding ways to make this information visible and actionable for families.
The goal shouldn’t be to measure more things; it should be to account for the totality of the educational experiences and outcomes that matter most to families. Expanding our understanding of educational quality can empower parents, educators, and policymakers alike to create a more robust and complete system of learning that nurtures students in full.
A community’s collective investment
This expanded view doesn’t diminish the importance of school quality; rather, it situates schools within a broader learning landscape. And beyond providing a more realistic picture of the learning opportunities that exist in a community, highlighting them could create positive pressure to invest in education more broadly, across entire communities.
As policymakers and education leaders refine their approach to what makes a student’s learning journey successful, they should ask not only how students perform on tests, but also what kinds of environments support meaningful, long-term learning. That means gathering new kinds of data and valuing the complete range of contributors to a child’s growth.
It’s time to expand our understanding of what makes an education great, beyond bricks and mortar, and test scores. True educational quality reflects a community’s collective investment in its children’s futures. Embracing this shift will ensure every child has access to the rich, diverse learning environment they deserve.
