EWA Summer School: An Online Cohort
EWA is offering a new online community for reporters interested in improving their summer school coverage. Apply by May 1.
Photo credit: Diego Cervo/Bigstock
With the academic year almost over, many students will soon disperse to summer learning programs of all shapes and sizes.
While traditional school’s out, summertime is ripe for reporting. Are students attending programs that meet the recommendations for effective summer learning? What are schools and organizations doing to ensure students can access programs and to encourage their attendance during summer break? And in states that have increased funding for summer school, are those investments paying off?
Summer school has undergone a transformation in recent years. Once seen as a time for remediation, it’s now often called summer learning, with programs that are less punitive and more focused on incorporating creativity and enrichment. This evolution and variety among programs offers ample opportunity for journalists to explore what really supports and engages students.
To help reporters better cover this oft-overlooked time of year, the Education Writers Association invites journalist members to apply for its free Summer School Cohort. (EWA journalist membership is free.)
During one week in May, participants will meet three times, each for an hour and 15 minutes, to build their summer learning knowledge. The online cohort will explore the research around summer school, including its effectiveness as an academic intervention, and what planning a high quality and accessible program involves. Hear how summer program providers try to balance enrichment and core academics, and learn which states are investing more in summer learning.
Participants will meet and learn from national experts and fellow journalists. Above all, the goal is for journalists to come away inspired, informed and better prepared to produce compelling coverage on summer programs in their own communities.
The cohort will meet at 2 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, May 19, Wednesday, May 20 and Thursday, May 21. Please mark your calendars now for these dates, as the program will be most effective if reporters attend all sessions.
The deadline to apply for this cohort is Friday, May 1.
