Context: This critical narrative study analyzes the discursive means by which the educational nonprofit AVID acculturates teacher educators and teacher preparation programs to its ideological network. Through scenes reconstructed from Cornell notes taken at an AVID Summer Institute, the author examines his double identity as an AVID for Higher…

Through funding from the National Science Foundation to create a Research Experience for Teachers site at North Dakota State University, the authors provided summer research experiences to current secondary (6th to 12th grade) educators to improve their understanding of the civil engineering field and develop new curriculum modules for their…

As writers are increasingly required to leave their ways of knowing, doing and being at the doors of their classrooms, this article explores what happens when teachers of writers open those doors and mobilize the "Writing Realities" framework's interrelated principles of "writer-identity," "critical literacies,"…

Recent years have seen an explosion of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research leading to myriad practical applications. This backdrop serves as a powerful motivator for students. George Mason University hosts an annual Aspiring Students Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) for students to participate as interns in ongoing…

This article provides an example of how a television station and a teacher education program located at the University of Central Missouri partnered to provide on-air lessons for kindergarten through fifth grade lessons to respond to the academic need due to the school shutdowns in spring 2020 because of COVID-19. The article highlights how three…

As the end of the school year approaches and families face another pandemic summer, a new survey of afterschool and summer programs brings some encouraging news: Providers are more likely to be open and operating in person this summer and are more optimistic about a return to normal than in previous surveys. However, providers also anticipate…

Out-of-school learning opportunities can improve student academic achievement and support social-emotional learning. Such programming is valued by the public and in high demand. Teachers can also benefit from seeing students engage in learning in contexts that promote creativity, safe risk-taking, and a tolerance for ambiguity and failure. This…

This article examines the ways in which interdisciplinary small groups were used in a school setting in order to drive students' "joyful engagement and" literacy instruction. Drawing from the work of Dr. Gholdy Muhammad in "Cultivating Genius" (2020) and "Unearthing Joy" (2023) we designed and implemented a summer…

Colleges are becoming increasingly diverse, including strengthening representation of students with disabilities in STEM (Science, Teaching, Engineering, and Math) fields; however, representation still lags behind national trends. To adapt to this changing demographic and improve representation, STEM college professors must be prepared to grant…

From 2013 to 2016, the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality and the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) partnered to design and test the Summer Learning Program Quality Intervention (SLPQI). The Summer Learning Program Quality Assessment, which defines quality as the presence of identified practices that benefit young people, was…

Authors describe how a summer respite introduces alternative ways and spaces in which to work, positing how collaborative discourse and dismantled hierarchies can affect positive change and productive outcomes for honors programs.

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…

With youth spending increasing labor and leisure time in designed environments crafted from digital materials, and with historically predatory entities like Meta/Facebook proposing to circumscribe learning and leisure within sensorially rich "metaverses" of their own design, the authors feel it is important for students to be able to…

Health-related career goals are popular among high school science students, yet few understand the application of chemistry and biology research to the field of medicine and its impact on society. In this five-day multidisciplinary summer camp, high school students learn about the real-world relevance of medicinal chemistry research and its…

The federal government has a long history of investing in programs for feeding children, starting with federal aid for school lunch programs in the 1930s. Today, federal child nutrition programs support food served to children in schools and a variety of other settings. This report starts with an overview of child nutrition programs' funding…