Describes a mathematics-focused summer camp for inner city, African American, at-risk secondary school students. Situated on a college campus, the camp grouped participants with college students and professional mathematicians. Results of pre- and posttests indicated that students' mathematics scores increased significantly. Both participants and…

After attending an astronomy camp at Tarleton State University (TSU) for teachers and secondary students in Summer 2002, the author, a kindergarten teacher, was disappointed to discover that the university offered no science camps for elementary students. She returned to her preK-K campus, whining to her principal. What a shame no one would take…

If educators expect more children to be successful in literacy experiences at school, then they must strive to form lasting partnerships with parents (Fried, 2001). The educators working with the after-school and summer literacy program actively sought to form partnerships with family members at a small rural elementary school in a southern state.…

For the past half-century, a racetrack outside San Diego has recruited educators for jobs during the summer break. But earning extra cash is not the only reason these seasonal employees return every year. Del Mar in San Diego, which was opened in 1937 after being bankrolled, in part by Bing Crosby, remains among the best-attended tracks in the…

I studied how the grade point averages (GPA, a post-enrollment descriptor) of first-year developmental education students relate to two pre-enrollment descriptors: students' Academic Aptitude Ratings (AAR, a pre-enrollment criterion) and students' voluntary or forced attendance at a mandatory summer-orientation program. Students who involuntarily…

The Open Studio Project (OSP) is a nonprofit arts and social service organization. This report presents the OSP process as a model of social action. It describes how the model was implemented in a particular community to address a need for arts programs for at risk youth. "Art & Action," an outreach program of OSP, became a unique year round after…

Students take summer and compressed courses for a variety of reasons and research indicates that learning outcomes in these courses are similar to those gained in traditional semester or quarter courses. This quantitative study was an attempt to clarify faculty perceptions about summer compressed courses. One hundred and fifty-one faculty members…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science. Master's degree students enrolled in the elementary Fairfax Partnership Schools (FPS, n = 21) cohort served as the…

Expanded learning opportunities (ELOs), which include afterschool, summer learning, and extended day and extended year programs, can help states reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates. Effective elementary, middle, and high school ELOs support academic rigor, boost student engagement, and provide students with supportive relationships.…

This report was requested by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA), Office of Education in July 2009 to evaluate the Informal Education Program. The goals of the evaluation were twofold: (1) to gain insight into its investment in informal education; and (2) to clarify existing distinctions between its informal education…

In response to the call of "BIO2010" for integrating quantitative skills into undergraduate biology education, 30 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Program Directors at the 2006 HHMI Program Directors Meeting established a consortium to investigate, implement, develop, and disseminate best practices resulting from the integration of math and…

This article describes an early childhood professional development project that took place in the summer of 2005 in Guatemala City. Located in Central America, Guatemala has a population of approximately 12.3 million people, including more than two million children under the age of 5 (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2007; UNICEF, 2004). Events…

To help address continuing disparities in academic achievement and under-representation of disadvantaged groups in math and science majors and careers, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) established a math and science initiative in 1990 within Upward Bound, a federal grant program known as Upward Bound Math-Science (UBMS) designed to provide…

Prior research has demonstrated that summer learning rooted in family and community influences widens the achievement gap across social lines, while schooling offsets those family and community influences. In this article, we examine the long-term educational consequences of summer learning differences by family socioeconomic level. Using data…

During the past several decades, child poverty rates have been higher in rural than in urban areas, and now 2.5 million children live in deep poverty in rural America. Studies indicate that poor children are most affected by the typical "summer slide." Summer programming has the ability to address the issues of academic loss, nutritional…