A Summerbridge program is a comprehensive 2- to 3-year academic program with intensive summer and school-year sessions, year-round counseling, and family advocacy and is followed by continued support through high school. The tuition-free program targets talented students with limited educational opportunities who are taught by a faculty composed entirely of high school students and college undergraduates. The main goal is to prepare younger students to succeed in high school and to provide essential service opportunities and the experience of teaching for high school and college students. Each Summerbridge program reflects the ethnic and economic diversity of the community it serves. With a generally defined pedagogy and substantive support by talented educators, Summerbridge turns over responsibility for teaching, curriculum development, counseling, advising, and administration to its young faculty. Programs are located at independent and public schools and serve children in the middle school years, depending on the site. The history of the Summerbridge program is traced, and steps to building a program are outlined from preplanning through the decision to start. A roster of 28 current Summerbridge programs is attached. (SLD)