The Florida program was started in 1983 to prepare and motivate students who are designated low income or educationally disadvantaged to encourage and enable them to enroll in and complete a postsecondary education. Students are recruited during grades 6-9. Postsecondary institutions in Florida provide tutoring, mentoring, parent workshops, and student visits to campuses. CROP has a $2.4 million annual budget which supports activities for 7,000 students each year.

This George Mason University program is targeted to 9th-12th grade students in three neighboring school districts. It offers a summer academic core program, reinforced through school-year tutoring, Saturday enrichment, and help with admissions and financial aid forms. Early in the process, parents know that they must participate in the program and that they will be full partners in the program.

In partnership with the county school system, Montgomery College runs summer academic enrichment programs for 3rd- through 12th-graders which are held on one of three college campuses in Maryland. Approximately 1,000 students attend one or more of the seven programs that include New Directions, the Summer Student Writing Institute and Practical Preparation for College. There is also a program called Saturday Discoveries offering one-day academic programs for honors students as well as a program called Thinking Towards the Future offering topics not covered by the school curriculum

This Stanford University program targets disadvantaged elementary and middle schools and tries to strengthen their school structure and core curriculum. It establishes peer tutoring, arranges for continuing education for teachers and emphasizes parent involvement in school learning activities. One hundred and forty public elementary and middle schools nationwide participate. The program is intended to promote organizational, curricular, and instructional strategies that contribute to increased expectations, greater confidence of at-risk students, more inspiring school experiences and increased empowerment of teachers and parents.

For 15 years, the University of California-Irvine, along with its partners California State University-Fullerton, Chapman University, Rancho Santiago Unified School District began the Student/Teacher Educational Partnership (STEP). Several programs operate under this umbrella including projects to strengthen the core curriculum, and to provide professional development for teachers, among others.

This University of California-Berkeley program operates 20 pre-college centers at colleges and universities across the state and serves approximately 14,000 students. The centers offer interested and talented elementary, middle, and high school students math and science enrichment through tutoring, study groups, academic and career advising, field trips, special summer programs, and scholarship incentives.

Few projects focus on the math/science area as comprehensively as the New Jersey Mathematics Coalition based at Rutgers University. By drawing together all segments of the community--education, business, government and the public--the Coalition is a catalyst and coordinator of a broad effort to reform mathematics education. The Coalition has developed New Jersey Mathematics Standards that sets out a vision for the improvement of mathematics, science and technology education. It has also produced a widely admired booklet, Mathematics to Prepare Our Children for the 21st Century: A Guide for New Jersey Parents. The Coalition conducts summer institutes for K-4 mathematics teachers and conducts conferences on topics as diverse as the use of graphing, calculators and the teaching of AP statistics. April of every year is Math, Science and Technology Month, during which numerous events are featured that bring together educators, county coordinators, museum staff, and business/industry leaders to participate in more than 200 events, including teacher workshops and student contests.

Loyola University's Countdown and Science Power project uses interactive cable television to give Chicago families an opportunity to learn more about mathematics and science. Children work with "television teachers" -- including university faculty, elementary school teachers and, sometimes, an elementary school student to explore topics such as coordinate geometry, symmetry, color and water. During the hour-long programs, which are broadcast two evenings a week on the community access channel, approximately 30 children call in with answers. Math and science concepts are taught through direct instruction and experiments, and are reinforced through game-like activities. This broad partnership includes Loyola University's College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education, the Cable Access Corporation, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, state education agencies, and local public and private elementary schools.

In 1990, Grand Canyon University formed an innovative partnership with Westwood Elementary School with the help of a restructuring grant from the Arizona legislature. The purpose of the partnership is to integrate technology into the curriculum and also to provide direct interaction between Grand Canyon faculty and students and Westwood teachers. Grand Canyon faculty train Westwood teachers to use computers in the curriculum--to teach their students math, reading and spelling skills. The university places practicum students in Westwood classrooms, giving the college students an opportunity to observe excellent teaching models.

At Alverno College (Wisconsin), the School of Education has implemented several critical improvements in its teacher education program. They have incorporated performance assessment across the curriculum so that future teachers will understand the power of assessment to support learning. Alverno students also help teachers in the Milwaukee Public Schools to integrate student performance assessment in mathematics, science, communications, and arts courses. The school of education has also increased its emphasis on the use of technology as a tool for learning. Students who are particularly interested in technology are designated "technology scholars." They work with public school teachers to support classroom technology applications. Alverno has also revamped elementary and secondary methods courses to help students understand how to create integrated curriculum units that focus on students knowledge and their ability to apply knowledge in a variety of contexts.

The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Western Kentucky established the School of Integrative Studies in Teacher Education to acknowledge that academic content cannot be separated from the processes and methods of education. This initiative emphasizes interdisciplinary program development that blends effective teaching practices and course content. It has also underscored the importance of technology in teaching through a partnership with the Jostens Learning Corporation and an alliance with 28 school districts comprising the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative. The partnership will develop technology centers that give students hands-on instruction and practice in the use of instructional technology. Students will also learn how to select the technology appropriate to a particular course and how to integrate it into their lesson plans and assignments.