In June 2002, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) adopted a new set of goals for the 21st century. Those goals included reaching every student, from preschool to high school, to ensure that achievement exceeds national averages and that performance gaps are closed. According to this brief report, research clearly shows that quality summer…

Intended to encourage children of all ages to read over the summer, this manual presents library-based programs, crafts, displays, and events with a medieval theme. The chapters of the manual are: (1) Introductory Materials; (2) Goals, Objectives and Evaluation; (3) Getting Started; (4) Common Program Structures; (5) Planning Timeline; (6)…

In discussing agencies for the improvement of teachers in service, one's mind naturally turns first to those periodical meetings of teachers, such as institutes, that are established by law. The data pertaining to meetings of this nature that have been collected are summarized in this paper. These were gathered primarily from State and Territorial…

The dialogical relationship between Confucianism and Taoism serves as a framework for examining the interplay between learning as socioculturally mediated activity and critical reflection in preservice teacher education. Article highlights a summer elementary school science program that involves preservice teachers, university faculty, and a local…

Describes a study conducted at Iowa State University with minority high school graduates that investigated student propensity to learn library skills independently and to determine whether learning was enhanced through the use of culturally oriented materials. Highlights include a review of literature concerning bibliographic instruction and…

Scientific Knowledge for Indian Learning and Leadership (SKILL) was implemented by South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1990 to improve the college readiness of American Indian students in math and science. Over 2,000 Indian students have participated in SKILL's academic-year programs, elementary summer programs, 4-week residential…

The Philadelphia Partnership is a Philadelphia School District (Pennsylvania) program, sponsored by the state higher education system and designed to increase the number of low-income and minority students in comprehensive, neighborhood magnet schools who attend college and graduate. A hundred sophomores are selected annually to participate in the…

Discusses the influence of Dan Davidson on the Russian language teaching profession, concentrating on the NEH-CORLAC Institutes in Russian Language and Culture and materials development projects and on Davidson's role in programs involving high schools that teach Russian, the high school exchange program, and two national contests to stimulate…

Overbrook School for the Blind (OSB), a specialized school serving students with blindness and visual impairment, has provided, since the early 1990s, paid summer work experiences as part of the school's Work Experience Program. In this article, the authors discuss how OSB has strengthened its original program as a result of the Workforce…

We examine the science and pedagogy behind a historical approach to the professional development of pre-college science (primarily biology) teachers. Our intention is to reach professional scientists, who, as a group, are uniquely qualified to provide experience and insights essential to this approach. The underlying research for this article has…

Summer undergraduate research programs in science and engineering facilitate research progress for faculty and provide a close-ended research experience for students, which can prepare them for careers in industry, medicine, and academia. However, ensuring these outcomes is a challenge when the students arrive ill-prepared for substantive research…

The purpose of this report is to provide information on the outcomes of the Intervention for College Attendance Program, a program of competitive grants awarded to postsecondary institutions, professional organizations, and community-based organizations. Prior to the 2008-09 biennium, the program focused on provision of college awareness and the…

A growing body of evidence indicates that the test scores of low-income children drop significantly relative to their higher-income counterparts during the summer months. This study finds that a well-implemented summer learning program can improve reading skills and increase the extent to which parents encourage their children to read during the…

A critical challenge facing educators today is meeting the needs of culturally diverse school populations. Since 1989, Mississippi State University has provided a summer institute, Strategies for Instructing Culturally Diverse Students, in which selected Mississippi elementary and secondary teachers have identified strategies for addressing the…

The Summer Training and Education Program (STEP) research demonstration was initiated in 1984 to test the effects of a two-summer remediation, work, and life skills intervention on the lives of 14- and 15-year-olds from poor urban families who were already seriously behind academically. The program provided youth with half-day summer jobs combined…