Ask a group of struggling elementary school students which ones want to give up a month of vacation to go to summer school, and you’ll see few, if any, raised hands. Most students attend summer school not because it’s their idea of a good time, but because they need to in order to advance to the next grade. To many students — and even some teachers — summer school feels more like punishment than an opportunity to learn and explore. In July 2010, working with a nonprofit organization called Big Thought, officials at the Dallas Independent School District embarked on an approach to summer school they hoped would change that image and engage kids. The idea was to support teachers, artists, and others to replace