Background: The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides free and nutritious meals to children under age 18 during out-of-school times. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryland sponsors served over 9.5 million meals to children through an expanded version of the SFSP. This study aimed to explore and compare the factors that enabled 2 SFSP…

Most people meet insects with fear and disgust, even though few insects pose health risks; in fact, many are beneficial and their absence would adversely affect human life. Such misunderstandings lead to insect conservation being important but unpopular. We addressed these concerns as part of a broader effort to establish an ongoing outreach…

In this summer program, preservice teachers are recruited to work with children from the community and are mentored closely by two faculty members who are literacy education professors. This allows the candidates to learn from faculty mentors and their peers, a proven model for effective field experiences. Despite the research being done on remote…

This paper is a case study of an English Learner (EL) summer enrichment program that supported English language fluency and comprehension of middle and high school students, many of whom were refugees, immigrants, or newcomers from U.S. territories. In this case, we share how a program can successfully provide an equitable education for newcomer…

Background: American Indian communities in the United States experience considerable health inequities, including increased exposure to environmental contaminants. Consequently, community members of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation identified the lack of water-related environmental knowledge among children as an area of concern. Aim: The purpose of…

This Information Capsule provides an overview of the Summer Youth Internship Program (SYIP) for Miami-Dade County Public School students sponsored by Miami-Dade County, The Children's Trust, Career Source of South Florida, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, JPMorgan Chase, and the Foundation for New Education Initiatives. The SYIP is a five-week paid…

The COVID-19 pandemic has widely affected existing academia-sponsored community service initiatives. Little is known about the strategies to sustain these initiatives during a public health crisis and the potential effects on community well-being and education. In this case study, we describe the impact of the pandemic on service partnerships…

Undergraduate research (UR) experiences continue to proliferate across all higher education settings. Yet community-based research (CBR) experiences account for a small percentage of UR opportunities. This paper describes the pilot study results of a summer program that is intentionally expanding the paradigm for UR at a public research university…

In this article we describe the development, implementation, and some of the early impacts of Nurture thru Nature (NtN), an American after-school and summer program designed to introduce elementary school students in disadvantaged, urban public schools to natural science and environmental education. The program, which began operations in 2010 as a…

This paper reports on the findings from the STEM Educators Academy, an ExpandED Schools initiative where classroom teachers and after-school educators engage in joint professional development at premiere science institutions, then work together back at their schools to teach maker-design projects that spark student interest and cultivate curiosity…

Although the Common Core State Standards call on parents to support professional educators' efforts for improving student academic achievement, we have yet to examine how to best support parents in achieving this goal. The present study addresses this need by examining a five-month mathematics intervention which aimed to increase awareness of the…

Minnesota has a persistent and substantial student achievement gap based on race and family income. There are also substantial achievement gaps between native English speakers and English learners (Minnesota Compass, n.d.). In 2019, Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood (SPPN) worked with Hmong American Partnership (HAP) and Saint Paul Public Schools…

School-community partnering activities promote the education of children, the well-being of families, and the vitality of communities. This study explores the connections that exist and are desired between a small, rural elementary school and its local community. Interviews (n = 21) with district and school administration, teachers, parents, and…

The school in which this research project took place, Papatoetoe Central, was concerned about research evidence that indicated students' reading achievement dropped after long summer breaks. This drop in achievement, known as "the summer effect", has been reported in schools in New Zealand and internationally (Alexander, Entwisle, &…

The majority of research examining Undergraduate Research Experiences focuses singularly on student-reported outcomes, often overlooking assessment of the mentor role in student learning and outcomes after these experiences. The goal of the current study was to examine the student-mentor dyad at the beginning and end of a 10-week summer research…