2020 Summer Learning Reports

A year of unprecedented challenges—and inspiring successes

For the first time since the CODE/Ministry of Education Summer Learning Programs (SLPs) started 10 years ago, the 2020 program was offered only through online learning.

With the COVID-19 pandemic posing such unusual and unprecedented circumstances, boards embraced these challenges with creativity, commitment to student learning, flexibility, and the willingness to modify programs as needed.

Throughout, CODE (Council of Ontario Directors of Education) provided its leadership and experience. Boards, in turn, pivoted to a new type of learning within tight timelines to meet the needs of their communities.

More students than ever participated, with almost 12,000 Elementary pupils benefitting from the 2020 program. There are reasons for this larger enrolment: they can be found, along with many other facts and figures, in the 2020 Summer Learning Report.

To provide an even more detailed look at the challenges and practical considerations that went into creating and running effective virtual summer learning programs in boards across the province, visit this site’s Reports section. There you’ll find samples of individual board summer learning reports that highlight each board’s uniqueness of delivery, range of engagement, and carefully considered instructional strategies.

Also found in the Reports section are two board research reports examining the impact of summer learning while utilizing virtual/online instruction.

Taken together, this collection of 2020 reports confirm the benefits of offering Ontario’s more vulnerable students (and their parents) an opportunity to stay engaged as learners during the summer months, and to become better learners during the regular school year.