On Aug 15th, Governor Tina Kotek co-convened a Summer and After School Learning Summit sponsored by the Oregon Community Foundation and Gray Family Foundation. The daylong summit is an essential step in shaping a long-term plan and roadmap for creating high-quality summer and afterschool programs that generate student success, reducing opportunity gaps and raising the bar for all students.

“The research is clear. Summer and afterschool programs reduce learning loss, accelerate academic success, and strengthen student wellbeing,” Governor Kotek said. “We’re here to roll up our sleeves, work together, and do what’s right for Oregon’s students. That means delivering high-quality programs that can reach the students who need them most, and ensuring sustainable, predictable funding for school districts and community partners.”

“At Oregon Community Foundation, we recognize the abundance of knowledge, expertise and lived experience across the state that can inform the ongoing efforts to expand access to high-quality summer and afterschool programming,” Belle Cantor, Senior Education Program Officer at Oregon Community Foundation said. “This summit is one example of how we are stronger when we work together toward a common goal.”

Attendees included local elected officials and representatives from school districts, education service districts, philanthropies, advocacy organizations, community-based organizations, and sovereign tribal nations from across the state. They actively participated in discussions about:

• How to create, maintain, and demonstrate successful programs
• Incorporating youth voices when developing programs
• National trends in summer and after school learning
• Reducing barriers to equitable access for students with disabilities and historically underserved students
• Removing administrative barriers
• Supporting the educator workforce

The summit is a component of the Governor’s ongoing commitment to raise the bar on outcomes for Oregon students. This year, the Governor signed House Bill 4082, introduced by Representative Susan McLain (Forest Grove), which provided $30 million in state funding for summer learning opportunities across Oregon for Summer 2024. The bill also established a workgroup to develop recommendations for sustainable long-term funding for summer learning programs. The workgroup has been meeting through the summer to generate input that informed both the summit as well as the recommendations the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) will put forward in a report to the Legislature.

The summer and afterschool learning work is one component of various education funding and student success conversations that the Governor’s Office is convening in preparation for next year’s legislative session. In July, the Governor proposed a plan to update the State’s calculation of the State School Fund. If funded in the next legislative session, this plan would boost the current service level for the State School Fund by an estimated $515 million more than the current methodology projected for the 2025-27 biennium.