Many school districts provide one-time transition events to help students prepare for the rigors of kindergarten; yet, research shows families desire additional information and opportunities to help their children thrive once school begins. Researchers for this study interviewed 39 parents whose children participated in a three-week structured…

The authors detail how 2,000 teachers facilitating summer camps for 8,000 students across a state for three years engaged families in authentic literacy practices. Building relationships, considering families' needs and strengths, and providing authentic learning experiences linked with literacy led to positive changes in family engagement and…

We leverage log data from an educational app and two-way text message records from over 3,500 students during the summers of 2019 and 2020 and in-depth interviews in Spanish and English to identify patterns of family engagement with educational technology. Based on the type and timing of technology use, we identify several distinct profiles of…

Amidst the increased demand for social justice throughout the United States, Carolyn Stoughton, a teacher in a midwestern school district, developed and taught curriculum on gender stereotypes and racial injustice to 2nd-grade students. She received messages from families suggesting her curriculum was inappropriate, pushing an agenda, and…

Supportive programming is frequently designed to increase reflection and amplify the effects of applied learning experiences. We have developed a supportive curriculum that integrates ePortfolio practice, brief psychological interventions, advising, mentoring, family engagement, and professional development into a highly successful summer research…

In the first learning community session since last summer's programs, foundation staff at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving in Connecticut invite providers to share their news. "What worked? What challenges did you see?" Seasoned providers highlight field trips taken, books introduced, newsletters crafted by youth and shared with…

In this article we expand on ideas of making and maker spaces to develop Indigenous making and sharing. We draw from an ArtScience participatory design project that involved Indigenous youth, families, community artists, and scientists in a summer Indigenous STEAM program designed to cultivate social and ecologically just nature-culture relations…

The authors conducted a cluster-randomized trial to examine the effectiveness of structured teacher adaptations to the implementation of an evidence-based summer literacy program that provided students with (a) books matched to their reading level and interests and (b) teacher scaffolding for summer reading in the form of end-of-year comprehension…

This qualitative study explored the perceptions of parental and programmatic support among 20 urban youth. Existing literature indicates that educators often place blame on parents for their perceived lack of involvement in their children's schooling. However, the participants identified their family members (e.g., parents, siblings) as providing…

This study investigates the role of task-based learning in the study abroad experience in order to enhance interaction with the host family. Tasks were incorporated into a Family Interaction Journal and implemented under four evolving, though different, conditions over a 5-year period. The conditions were: (1) home campus administered/student…

After-school learning, summer learning, and family involvement in learning are major predictors of children's development, educational achievement, and school success. The United States will not achieve its national goals of equal educational opportunity without addressing the importance of and inequities in out-of-school learning opportunities.…

Kindergarten isn't what it used to be. No longer is kindergarten a place for learning the social skills needed for success at school and sprinkled with a few letters, numbers, shapes and sizes. Today, kindergartners are expected to head to first grade as beginning readers with basic skills in place to ensure their success in core content areas. To…

A summer program provided a range of health and school activities for entire families of the Minneapolis (Minnesota) Indian community. Both students and their parents improved in learning assessments and in attitudes toward school. (MLF)

The National Aural Group was formed to promote the use of an auditory-oral approach with families of very young children with hearing impairments in the United Kingdom. The group's activities include summer school programs to educate parents, follow-up weekend sessions, support networks and helplines, and fact sheets and booklets. (JDD)

Outlines a major literacy initiative for urban children taking place in the Dallas, Texas Public Schools. Describes several different programs at the school district level aimed at family and community outreach, in order to create a literacy-education support system with primary care givers in the homes. (SR)