A fundamental problem that continues to plague educators is the achievement gap between low-income and higher-income students. In the ongoing search for solutions, one of the more promising approaches is expanding opportunities for learning, particularly in the summer. This article describes a project funded by The Wallace Foundation that offers…

Joellen Killion is senior advisor to Learning Forward. In each issue of JSD, Killion explores a recent research study to help practitioners understand the impact of particular professional learning practices on student outcomes. The study presented here builds on past research about the relationships between teacher practice and beliefs, teacher…

Adopting new curricula presents both a need and an opportunity for professional development to advance teacher content knowledge and instructional practices for achieving curriculum-specific student outcomes. This study examines two modalities of professional development: face-to-face in a summer workshop and online that included two days of…

Most students attend summer school not because it's their idea of a good time, but because they need to in order to advance to the next grade. To many students--and even some teachers--summer school feels more like punishment than an opportunity to learn and explore. In July 2010, working with a nonprofit organization called Big Thought, officials…