Higher education officials have recently begun to focus their attention on summer enrollment as an alternative means by which to improve recruitment and retention. Utilizing business analytics and forecasting, Elon University has seen significant growth in its summer college enrollment and revenue. The current study seeks to address how students…

This report examines the beginning-of-year (BOY) reading performance of English learners (ELs) who attended summer school in June 2019. Summer school ELs' performance on the Texas Kindergarten Entry Assessment (TX-KEA) and iStation Indicators of Progress (ISIP) was compared to that of similar ELs who did not attend summer school. Spanish-speaking…

The American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) partnered with Girls Who Code (GWC) to conduct an independent study evaluating the effectiveness of two GWC summer virtual programs, the Summer Immersion Program (SIP) and the Self-Paced Program (SPP), on promoting the pursuit of Computer Science (CS)-related postsecondary education for high school…

Purpose: The paper aims to address the increasing issue of teacher shortages and the lack of diversity in America's educators. Highly diverse communities need ways to support community members interested in careers as teachers. This article explores one promising approach to reach and inspire high school students considering the teaching…

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) focuses on education and seeks to promote inclusive, equitable, and quality education, providing opportunities for all. In this context, it seeks to promote intersectionality (gender and ethnicity) as a fundamental factor in education, and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…

To engage students with academic research is recognised as a high-impact activity that supports the development of valuable critical thinking skills. Various approaches have been developed to promote student research both in and outside the curriculum. By incorporating the perspectives of both students and academics, this qualitative study…

The teacher workforce does not look much like the adult population or the students they serve. Across the country, only 21% of teachers are from historically disadvantaged racial groups compared to 35% of working-age adults and 49% of students. Simple math suggests that the diversity gap between students and teachers will only close when teachers…

Chemistry students at community colleges often experience a lack of hands-on research opportunities, which can be a significant disadvantage when they transition to four-year universities. To address this, the Summer Chemistry Research Opportunities for Community College Students (SCROCCS) was established in 2022 by graduate students at the…

Preschool teachers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of nature connection during early childhood, including the development of healthy bodies, social-emotional competency and eventual academic success (Sobel, 2015; Warden, 2012). However, for many preschools located in urban settings, the question isn't whether nature connection is…

Scientific literacy is essential for success of youth and adults in the 21st century. In 2017, Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development initiated a fellowship program to address scientific literacy throughout Oklahoma: the STEMist program. Through this program, college students with a background or interest in science are recruited, trained, and sent to…

This exploratory study examined parent perceptions about the benefits of and barriers to their child attending a residential summer camp. Researchers conducted a survey of 370 parents of summer camp attendees and 198 parents of camp-aged children who have never attended camp. Findings show that parents value different camp benefits depending on…

Year-round school is the organization of days within a school calendar year to provide students with regular breaks and instructional blocks. This study surveyed 502 parents to identify factors influencing parental support for, or opposition to, year-round school. Three themes were constructed based on parent responses: children need educational…

The Beebe (AR) Public School District is committed to the mission of utilizing all resources to provide learning opportunities, tools, progressive technology, and guidance to enable all students to become productive citizens and lifelong learners. Each school year, upon returning from summer vacation, a noticeable decline in student reading levels…

The St. Mary's University Jump Start summer bridge program for precalculus was implemented for the first time in August 2014 and completed its third iteration in August 2016. This 12-day summer bridge program occurred immediately before the beginning of the fall semester. The primary intent of this program was to effectively provide prerequisite…

Gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are well documented, yet little is known about how women and men students establish social relationships with research mentors and peers and how that shapes their experiences in STEM. We conducted a series of interviews with 17 undergraduate students from a Hispanic…