Episode 451 | The Summer Slide

Episode 451 | The Summer Slide

From School Owner Talk by Allie Alberigo & Duane Brumitt

May 27, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of summer on student attendance and provides strategies for retention during the summer months.

Episode 451| The Summer Slide Podcast Description Summer doesn’t “cause” cancellations—lost routines do. When school ends, schedules get weird fast: families travel, sports calendars explode, bedtimes drift, and parents get overwhelmed. Then attendance slips… and most of the time, students don’t quit in a dramatic way. They just miss a week, miss another week, and quietly drift out. In Episode 451, Duane Brumitt and Shihan Allie Alberigo break down the Summer Slide and share a simple, repeatable retention playbook you can run every year—without discounting your program, without begging people to stay, and without burning yourself out. Key Takeaways Summer isn’t the problem. Chaos is. The “summer slide” is really the pile-up of travel, sports, late nights, and less structure. “Breaks equal quits.” Even a short break can turn into a permanent dropout because the habit gets broken. Most cancellations don’t come from anger—they come from drifting. A missed week becomes two, and the student falls out of rhythm. Not every student needs the same plan. You’ll typically see three categories: Travelers (gone for trips, sometimes for weeks) Sports kids (schedule conflicts and weekend…

People in this episode

Hosts: Duane Brumitt, Shihan Allie Alberigo

Topics covered

  • summer slide
  • student retention
  • attendance
  • school routines
  • cancellations
  • student motivation

Keywords

  • summer slide
  • attendance
  • student retention
  • school routines
  • cancellations
  • motivation

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