The Summer Advantage program harnesses the power of summer learning to help children (whom we call scholars) raise their achievement, become healthier and more physically fit, improve their self-esteem, and return to school better prepared to succeed academically, with stronger minds and bodies.
Summer Advantage Roaring Fork Valley
provides scientifically proven, cost efficient, summer learning, physical fitness and life enrichment programming.
WHY SUMMER ADVANTAGE? Summer Advantage is an award-winning summer
academic and life enrichment program.
Participating students advance 2.5 to 4 months in reading and math during the five-week program versus “falling backward” up to 3 months during the long summer break.
Summer Advantage was modeled from extensive national research regarding what makes a summer academic program successful and has positively impacted of more than 80,000 children nationwide since 2009.
They want to have fun
Young children don’t want to “go to school” in the summer – they want to have fun
The goal is to encourage children to read
The Summer Advantage curriculum is specially designed to appeal to young children with topics that interest them and colorful illustrations and photography.
If the program isn’t “fun” kids won’t attend
Summer Advantage’s afternoon enrichment programming; Friday field trips; breakfast and lunch; colorful, interesting curriculum materials; interactive teaching methods; and a low-ratio of students to teachers; together entice approximately 600 elementary students to complete the five-week program each summer.
Approximately 625 students attend Summer Advantage in the RFV each summer, many of whom enter the program 1-2 years behind their peers.
The SA curriculum has proven to be effective in both generating enthusiastic participation among young RFS students and in achieving 2.5+ months of academic gains each summer in both reading and math during the five-week program.
In 12 years of
Summit54 Summer Advantage programming
Scholars who attend the Summit54 Summer Advantage program advance 2.5 to 4 months in their reading and math skills each summer. Without access to a high-quality summer academic program, low-income students typically regress three months during the long summer break.
This positive turnaround
of more than six months makes a significant impact on children’s academic readiness for the following school year.
Our Scholars
Each summer, more than 625 scholars in grades K-5 attend our program.
Below you can find key demographics from summer 2024.
80% of scholars identified as Hispanic, 17% white, 3% Other
62% of scholars qualified for free or reduced-price meals during the school year
10% of scholars had Special Needs
47% of scholars were girls and 53% were boys
Program Dates & Hours
The Roaring Fork Valley Summer Advantage program is possible through a many-year three-way partnership with the Roaring Fork School District, Summer Advantage USA and Summit54. New in 2023, Aspen School District sponsored select students, who tested below grade level, to participate in the Basalt Summer Advantage program. Aspen Elementary School again participated in the Roaring Fork Valley Summer Advantage program in 2024. We will again provide children with five-weeks of high-quality summer programming from June 16 - July 18, 2025. The program operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Overall, our scholars receive an additional 25 days, or 162 total hours of dynamic summer learning that includes rigorous academics, physical fitness, nutritious meals and a wide array of life enrichment experiences.
Additional Income for Teachers
The extra income local teachers earn while working for the Summit54 sponsored Summer Advantage and After-School Tutoring programs helps local educators better afford the high cost of living in the Roaring Fork Valley.
The Summer Advantage program also benefits the Roaring Fork School District in additional ways
- It brings teachers from outside the Valley to the region to participate in Summer Advantage which sometimes results in permanent job offers from the RFSD, thus helping the District recruit high-quality educators.
- Teachers from different school districts work together learning “best practices” from each other during the Summer Advantage program.
- Summer Advantage provides leadership opportunities and training for local educators which has frequently resulted in advancement within the District.
- Teachers Apply Here
High-Quality Educators
To ensure our scholars work with well-qualified educators, we utilize an industry-leading, multi-tiered process for selecting educators that includes several interviews and analysis of student data. Through this intensive screening process, Summer Advantage selects approximately 70 educators to serve our scholars each summer including Teachers, Teacher Assistants, Program Managers, Assistant Program Managers, and Operations Administrators. By placing 70 high-quality teachers in our classrooms, we are able to maintain small classes and a 1:11 educator-to-student ratio to ensure personalized instruction for our scholars.
Professional Development
In addition to undergoing a rigorous selection process, our educators participate in 20 hours of skill-based training prior to the start of the program. Pre-service training includes ten hours of self-paced online learning and 18 hours of face-to-face professional development covering topics such as collaboration and engagement, checking for understanding, social emotional support, curriculum support and more. As a result of the dynamic professional development and program experience, our educators overwhelming report an increase in their professional skills.
Academic Results
Based on the nationally-normed exam, STAR Reading and Math, our scholars demonstrate an average of 2.5 - 4 months of academic gains, including an average of 2.5+ months gain in reading and 3.5 months gain in math over the course of the program each summer.
As we previously shared, this represents a significant turnaround for our scholars. Children living in low-income communities typically experience 3 months of summer learning loss. The gains made by our scholars position them to progress towards academic success in the coming school year. On average, over 86% of scholars attend the program daily.
Enrichment Experiences
Our goal is for scholars to develop as well-rounded individuals. During the summer, our program provides a wide range of enrichment experiences that provide scholars with the opportunity to explore their interests, develop healthy habits, and expand their vision for the world. Below you can find some of the enrichment courses we have offered:
- Drama/Theatre: This enrichment helped our scholars build a foundation of important skills to support their success in and out of the classroom. Scholars were introduced to a variety of scripts where they used their creativity as they took on various characters, reading aloud in front of their peers. Ultimately, building their self-esteem, confidence, creative thinking, public speaking skills, as well as their leadership and teamwork skills.
- Health Science: Health Science is all about teaching our scholars positive habits to support their health. In this enrichment, scholars learned about healthy eating habits and the benefits of being active. Our class explored different nutrients and the important roles those nutrients have in the body. We also spent time learning how to review nutrition labels for healthy eating. We coupled our focus on nutrition with movement-based learning activities and active team-building challenges while learning about exercise and its positive impact on our overall physical well-being.
- Cultural Art & Folktales: This class was all about getting in touch with our community through the exploration and creation of art through folktales. Each class focused on a story that was brought to life through art.
- Mindfulness Movement: Through this enrichment, scholars learned calming strategies to quiet their minds by developing a stronger connection to their bodies through guided movement. Scholars learned how to utilize these movements to create mental focus.
- STEM (Science Technology Engineering, Mathematics): This enrichment exposed our scholars to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through a host of hands-on activities challenging scholars to use critical thinking skills, and in many instances to work as a team to come up with creative solutions. One of our individual assignments, challenged scholars to use information learned to build a paper airplane with a goal to create a plane that would fly the furthest, creating both healthy competition among our scholars and a lot of fun.
Additional enrichment experiences included Financial Literacy, Art in Math and Math in Art,
Current Events, Colorful Colorado Nature and History, Classical Guitar, American Sign Language,
AI Discoveries, and French Culture.
Field Trips
On Fridays, Summer Advantage scholars participate in engaging educational field trips which allow them to deepen relationships with their families, build connections to their community, and envision pathways for their futures.
The “Fun Friday” experience is integral to our program. Over the years, scholars have had the opportunity to learn about the rich history of Colorado by visiting the Glenwood Springs Railroad Museum, the Ice Age Discovery Center, and Glenwood Caverns. They have also visited Ashcroft Miner’s Town, where scholars learned about the boom and bust cycle in economies, toured the mountains around our region, and experienced many other remarkable areas in the Valley, which they had not previously known about.
We value community engagement and aim to promote this service-mindedness in our program. For example, scholars regularly have the opportunity to work with Roaring Forks Outdoor Volunteers on a service-learning project where they help restore and beautify areas around them. The experiences often include guest speakers.
Every summer, all scholars visit Colorado Mountain College, where a different major field of study is explored.
Our scholars participate in educational field trips that allow them to deepen their awareness of their community and explore college and careers. Below you can find some of the wonderful field trips that our scholars have experienced.
| Destination | Activities |
|---|---|
| Aspen Mountain | Students rode gondolas up to the mountain for a picnic lunch, outdoor activities, and hikes. |
| Ashcroft | Students toured the ghost town while actors reenacted what it was like for those who lived in Ashcroft. |
| Colorado Mountain College | Students took a virtual tour of the Colorado Mountain College campus to learn about college life and possibilities in the valley. |
| Carbondale Fire Department | Students walked to the local fire department and learned about fire safety procedures and explored the equipment. |
| Wheeler Stallard Museum | Students visited the museum to learn about The Wheeler/Stallard house which is a Queen Anne-style Victorian built around 1887-1888. |
| The Arts Campus At Willits- Basalt | Students attended a FocusedKids play to learn about the brain in action. FocusedKids partners with Summit54, Summer Advantage and schools, families, and community organizations to make healthy brains a priority for children. The program instills mindful self-regulation skills and brain-building techniques into daily routines to increase resilience, self-awareness, and academic potential. |
| Glenwood Springs Branch Library | Students toured the library, read books, and listened to guest readers. |
Community Service Projects
During the summer, our scholars embark on service-learning projects. Service learning is important because it connects student learning with real-world experiences in the community.
Students who participate are more deeply engaged in their local communities, gain practical skills, develop career and personal interests, and often become more engaged citizens. Service- learning experiences are a key part of our summer learning model.
Program Satisfaction
Summit54 and our partners want to provide the best summer experience for all who participate in the program. We are focused on improving academic results, but we also care about the engagement and satisfaction of our scholars, families, and educators. We are very pleased to share some of the following highlights from our recent survey:
95% of parents would recommend the program to other families.
98% of teachers would recommend the program to parents looking for an educational summer program.
98% of scholars felt that the adults at Summer Advantage care about them.
Thank you to all our partner organizations and donors who contribute to making Summit54 programming possible
Platinum Level Donors
Melvyn & Bren Simon Charitable Foundation
Roaring Fork School District RE-1
Wend II, Inc.
The Foundation for a Stable Childhood