The frequent need that students exhibit for greater academic and nonacademic support than can be offered during the regular school day is a widely documented challenge. Summer programs are a common tool that schools and districts employ to expand the time over which students have access to learning opportunities and resources. For the current…

School districts have historically operated summer programs to give students extra learning and enrichment opportunities to promote positive academic and behavioral outcomes. Despite the potential benefits and policymakers' endorsement of summer programming, recent research suggests that summer programs have a limited impact on post-pandemic…

Effective transitions to kindergarten engage families and ease children into new environments. Countdown to Kindergarten (CTK), a program in a southeastern U.S. state that serves more than 1,000 children each year and is grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, partners kindergarten teachers and families to facilitate effective…

This report is part of a commissioned paper series that highlights the profound and ongoing effects of COVID-19 on educational opportunities and underscores the necessity of bold, systemic reforms to ensure equitable and effective learning environments. The papers examine evidence-based strategies to mitigate opportunity gaps, strengthen student…

University of Maryland, Baltimore CURE Connections (UMB CURE) connects West Baltimore high school students with STEM enrichment including hands-on research and community outreach. This study's purpose was to describe successes and challenges of implementing the virtual Community Health Worker curriculum during the summer programming for UMB CURE…

The Accelerate Cancer Education (ACE) summer research program at The University of Kansas Cancer Center (KUCC) is a six-week, cancer-focused, summer research experience for high school students from historically marginalized populations in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Cancer affects all populations and continues to be the second leading…

There is currently a heavy emphasis on career-connected learning for high school students in New York City. ExpandED Schools' science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Options (ES Options) program predates the newest of these initiatives. Launched in 2019, ES Options combines a credit-bearing STEM apprenticeship in the spring with a…

The fundamental goal of the Third Grade Summer Reading Camp program in 2024 was to bolster the reading skills of struggling third grade students and to prepare them to demonstrate mastery of state standards needed to be promoted to the fourth grade. The Office of Program Evaluation undertook an evaluation to gauge whether students who completed…

Effective interventions are needed to help alternative high school teachers manage challenging student behaviors. One such intervention, class-wide function-related intervention teams (CW-FIT), is a classroom management program based on positive behavior interventions and supports principles. CW-FIT involves teaching appropriate classroom…

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with historical inequities, resulted in a widening of the achievement gap between underserved populations and more advantaged students. In response to this issue, California took action by allocating additional funds to public school districts for out-of-school-time services through the Expanded Learning Opportunities…

Rural communities face incredible challenges and emerging opportunities. Land-grant universities are well-positioned to assist by developing new approaches to inspire university students to become civically engaged, rural community members. With this aim, the Rural Scholars program at Oklahoma State University was developed as an opportunity for…

Preschool aged children's social and emotional adjustment impacts their behavior across settings. Providing high-quality early intervention services that enhance social and emotional skills can help prepare children for formal schooling and improve social and behavioral outcomes. The summer prior to Kindergarten presents a unique opportunity for…

The following report highlights the results of the Student Voice, Summer Student Educational Equity Development (SEED) Survey. The Summer SEED Survey is directly aligned to the Oregon SEED Survey administered during the school year and has the purpose of amplifying student voice to refine program implementation and shape decision-making. The…

The goal of undergraduate chemistry laboratories is to allow students to learn about chemical systems and key laboratory skills. They should then apply this knowledge to solve problems and connect macroscopic observations in the laboratory with those occurring at the submicroscopic level. Unfortunately, these needs are not met through traditional…

Objective: Although most community college students intend to transfer to a 4-year college, few ultimately do. We sought to assess how student experiences of the Exploring Transfer (ET) program influenced transfer rates. The ET program was offered by a private, 4-year liberal arts college. Methods: We used data from a cross-sectional survey of…