The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a non-randomized summer reading program offered by a school district meeting or exceeding all National Summer Learning Project recommendations. The district had 10 years of experience delivering the program to Grades 1-5 students with or at risk of reading disabilities. Voluntary participation had…

Summer bridge programs are the second most common student support program in the United States. Though they vary in design, most are focused on supporting students who are at risk. Programs vary in terms of their curricular offerings as well. This study examined the ex post facto data from a summer bridge program at Manchester Community College in…

Recent policy discussions have proposed government-guaranteed jobs, including for youth. One key potential benefit of youth employment is a reduction in criminal justice contact. Prior work on summer youth employment programs has documented little-to-no effect of the program on crime during the program but has found decreases in violent and other…

This article is a revised and expanded version of my presidential address delivered during the 74th Annual Conference of the Literacy Research Association. Part biography and autoethnography, I discuss the need to 'trouble five dark spaces' that affect the literacy development of black male children and teenagers: (1) bounded research orientations…

Little is known about college students during their summer break between the first and second years of college, when some students may contemplate whether they will return to college. Using ethnographic method, this article addresses critical questions of low-income college students during their summer breaks of where they go, where they stay, and…

Social and cultural capital are critical components of success among college students. In this paper, we examine the creation, accumulation, and distribution of social and cultural capital by and among underserved college students who participated in a summer bridge program at one regional public state university. Using qualitative data from…

We report a program for a summer science academy in chemistry, a section of the Chicago Academic Achievement Program (CAAP) at the University of Chicago, as a gateway to STEM for incoming first-generation students and other underrepresented student groups. Our program emphasized diversity in classrooms, students' psychological safety and a sense…

How can we support academic growth for students with disabilities (SWD) who may have experienced disproportionate academic impacts from COVID-19? Recent NWEA research may help inform how federal ESSER [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief] and IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] funding can provide early intervention,…

Summer reading programs are a common means of providing wraparound services to improve the performance of students' with or at risk for reading disabilities. Today's programs are not merely camps but are complex and costly academic efforts that require year-round planning to be successful. School personnel responsible for these programs typically…

Learning to read is an essential skill for later academic success, positive self-esteem, and gainful employment. Students who display reading difficulties/disabilities at the end of third grade are less likely to succeed in content areas and graduate from high school. Recent data suggests that many students in today's schools do not become skilled…

During a school day, children make several transitions between activities, which can take away from instructional time and result in challenging behaviors. This study investigates the impact positive engagement and behavioral supports have on children's behavior while transitioning. Participants (N = 40; 77.5% Male; 92.5% Hispanic) were enrolled…

There is a lack of consensus among school districts on how best to mitigate reading and math learning loss during the summer months. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative exploration study was to determine if there was a statistically and practically significant effect of an educational program on summer learning loss in reading and…

Research Findings: This study evaluated the impacts of the Summer Preschools Program on 5-to-6-year-old Syrian refugee and local children from vulnerable communities of Turkey. Developed as a community-based contextually sensitive early intervention model, the program aimed to promote developmental well-being and school readiness of children from…

This study sought to better understand how schools were addressing U.S. state policies targeting summer reading interventions for students not meeting accountability standards. Survey data were gathered from 580 public and private elementary schools in one state (67% response rate) regarding the barriers to offering summer programs,…

The Central Gulf Coast Children's Defense Fund summer program has provided a solution to the issues related to learning loss and poverty over the last three years. Elementary students were strategically selected from low-income, at-risk, and minority communities to participate in the Freedom Schools program. This study describes the benefits to…