From its inception, the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary has been committed to the education of gifted students. Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska, founder of the CFGE, created a learning environment to work directly with gifted students and parents by providing diverse university-based pre-collegiate programs in both residential and…

In 2019, the Texas legislature passed a historic education finance bill that included an initiative to add up to 30 days to the school-year calendar. One way districts can do this is to offer a voluntary summer learning program. In 2020, the American Institutes for Research, with support from The Wallace Foundation, launched the six-year Texas…

Many talented students in under-resourced schools do not reach their full potential. Research shows that by sixth grade, children born into poverty have likely spent 6,000 fewer hours learning than their middle-class counterparts. Higher Achievement, an intensive summer and after-school program, aims to close that learning gap. It offers…

This Wallace "Perspective" delves into what makes for a high-quality, voluntary summer learning program, one that provides children from disadvantaged communities with engaging academics as well as stimulating enrichment activities during the interval between the end of the school year and back-to-school time. Interest in these programs…

During the school year leading up to summer 2015, summer leaders in Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Rochester made concerted efforts to integrate their summer learning programs into the core priorities and operations of the larger school district as a strategy to increase sustainability. This report examines these efforts and their impacts. The…

As numerous studies from 1906 on have confirmed, children lose ground in learning if they lack opportunities for building skills over the summer. Nonetheless, summer learning loss comes up but rarely in the national discussion of education reform. By the end of summer, students perform on average one month behind where they left off in the spring.…

Research shows low-income students suffer disproportionate learning loss over the summer and because those losses accumulate over time, they contribute substantially to the achievement gap between low- and higher-income children. The Wallace Foundation is funding a five-year demonstration project to examine whether summer learning programs can…

Research shows low-income students suffer disproportionate learning loss over the summer and because those losses accumulate over time, they contribute substantially to the achievement gap between low- and higher-income children. The Wallace Foundation is funding a five-year demonstration project to examine whether summer learning programs can…

Tips on organizing a creative teaching experience for summer vacation time are offered. Program organization, student selection, course content, publicity, and funding are aspects to be considered when planning a summer arts program. (DF)

A summer program was developed in the Camden area of South Carolina to involve third-grade artistically gifted/talented students in activities in visual art, drama, music, and movement. Described are the program's selection process, goals, rationale, projected outcomes, staffing, facilities, and program administration. (JDD)

The development of the GATEWAY (Gifted And Talented Education With Artistic Youth) program is described. The Aiken County, South Carolina, summer program offers enrichment activities for students from grades 3-12 in music, drama, visual arts, and dance. Described are the student selection process and program activities. (JDD)

The Sea Island School for the Arts in Beaufort County, South Carolina, is a summer program for junior-high students with special abilities/interests in music or visual arts. Students create artworks and music compositions; develop self-concepts, creative viewpoints, and communication skills; and participate in field trips, recreation, and…

Carnegie Mellon University's two-week summer enrichment program for mathematically gifted students in grades three through six is described, with attention to eligibility and student identification, a problem-solving emphasis, a typical day, staffing, instructional materials, and questioning techniques. The two enrichment courses involved…

The article recounts development and implementation of a 6-week summer enrichment program for 16 inner city gifted high school students held at an independent suburban college preparatory school. The program also provided scholarship help, enabling 1 inner-city student to attend the school full time. (DB)

Project CAVES (Creative Adventures and Valuable Experiences through Spelunking) is a summer residential program for gifted high-school students, involving lectures, surveying and mapping simulated caves, and exploring and surveying actual caves in Arkansas. The project's development and learning activities are described. (JDD)