Can Summer School Close the Opportunity Gap?: A Case Study of Baylor Freedom Schools

Undisciplined

In this episode, we shift the narrative of summer school from punishment to enrichment. Dr. Lakia Scott, Assistant Provost for Faculty Development & Diversity at Yale University, shares her experience as the Founding Executive Director of the Baylor Freedom Schools Program. This episode explores the program's enrichment impact on students, strategies for fostering successful collaborations with local school districts and other sponsors, and the logistical and cultural considerations in building the program and curricula. The program's unique focus on texts that explore citizenship, government, History, and culture as a pathway to expand African American students' access to educational enrichment, equity, and opportunity is particularly relevant in an education policy era that may be widening the opportunity gap.