Across the United States, K-12 schools are recognizing that as the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) enrolled increases, there is an opportunity for greater linguistic and cultural exchange among all learners. ELLs also face the dual challenge of learning English in addition to rigorous academic content. This makes them vulnerable to "summer slide," one of several terms used to describe when students attain a level of measured achievement based on standardized testing at the end of the school year, but begin the following school year with lower scores after having spent approximately 8 to 10 weeks outside of an academic setting. A diverse suburban school district on Eastern Long Island, New York has seen a dramatic increase in English Language Learners over the past decade. The district recognizes that these students make strong progress during the academic school year and also experience the effects of spending two months away from school in the summer. This diverse suburban school district has run a grant-funded summer program for seven years as of 2018. The initial goal was simple: to help students learn English. Success was measured anecdotally at first: students were excited about the experience, and teachers reported considerable language growth. However, the district recognized that more was needed and created a partnership with Stony Brook University. For two summers, reading scores for students in the program were more closely examined. When reading scores at the end of the school year were compared with reading scores at the start of the following school year, students who participated with regular attendance in a summer program for ELLs were able to begin the school year in September without further academic loss. In fact, the majority of students had reading scores that either improved or remained at the same level -- a great step toward reducing the academic learning gap.