UCSC Press Release:Bilingual summer school offerred

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June 21, 1999
Contact: Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@cats.ucsc.edu
EDITOR'S ADVISORY
UCSC, Life Lab, and Salinas school offer bilingual summer school
What: A four-week bilingual summer school that gives students a significant boost in their language and science learning will be offered to 400 elementary students at Los Padres Elementary School in Salinas this summer.
The summer school uses a garden-based science curriculum to help students learn English. Students who have enrolled in the program during previous years showed significant gains in their language development and their understanding of scientific concepts, according to researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The summer school program is part of the Language Acquisition in Science Education in Rural Schools, or LASERS, project. Now in its fourth year, LASERS is a collaboration among the Education Department at UCSC, seven school districts in central California, and the Life Lab Science Program. The goal is to develop a model of science education that reaches students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
The program's success in fostering student learning and the professional development of participating teachers has prompted two districts to offer their own summer school programs this year. In addition, Fresno Unified School District, the fourth-largest district in the state, has incorporated elements of the LASERS model into their own program.
Who: Reporters will have an opportunity to interview students in the Salinas school district, as well as teachers from the Alisal, Aromas-San Juan, Hollister, North Monterey, Pajaro, and Salinas school districts.
Interviews in Spanish and English can be arranged.
When: June 21 through July 15, 1999
Where: Los Padres Elementary School 1130 John Street Salinas, CA (831) 753-5630
Background: LASERS uses science to help develop literacy in children with limited English skills. Research reveals that more than 40 percent of students who participated last year showed a two-month boost in their language ability after the four weeks of summer school. For teachers, the session offers specialized professional development opportunities; mornings are spent in the classroom, and afternoons are spent with mentor teachers who encourage participating teachers to develop and test new skills. LASERS is a five-year effort funded by the National Science Foundation to improve science education for K-6 bilingual students.
Contact: Jennifer McNulty, Public Information, (831) 459-2495, or Roberta Jaffee, Life Lab Executive Director, (831) 459-2001
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June 21, 1999 Contact: Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@cats.ucsc.edu EDITOR'S ADVISORY UCSC, Life Lab, and Salinas school offer bilingual summer school What: A four-week bilingual summer school that gives students a significant boost in their language and science learning will be offered to 400 elementary students at Los Padres Elementary School in Salinas this summer. The summer school uses a garden-based science curriculum to help students learn English. Students who have enrolled in the program during previous years showed significant gains in their language development and their understanding of scientific concepts, according to researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The summer school program is part of the Language Acquisition in Science Education in Rural Schools, or LASERS, project. Now in its fourth year, LASERS is a collaboration among the Education Department at UCSC, seven school districts in central California, and the Life Lab Science Program. The goal is to develop a model of science education that reaches students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The program's success in fostering student learning and the professional development of participating teachers has prompted two districts to offer their own summer school programs this year. In addition, Fresno Unified School District, the fourth-largest district in the state, has incorporated elements of the LASERS model into their own program. Who: Reporters will have an opportunity to interview students in the Salinas school district, as well as teachers from the Alisal, Aromas-San Juan, Hollister, North Monterey, Pajaro, and Salinas school districts. Interviews in Spanish and English can be arranged. When: June 21 through July 15, 1999 Where: Los Padres Elementary School 1130 John Street Salinas, CA (831) 753-5630 Background: LASERS uses science to help develop literacy in children with limited English skills. Research reveals that more than 40 percent of students who participated last year showed a two-month boost in their language ability after the four weeks of summer school. For teachers, the session offers specialized professional development opportunities; mornings are spent in the classroom, and afternoons are spent with mentor teachers who encourage participating teachers to develop and test new skills. LASERS is a five-year effort funded by the National Science Foundation to improve science education for K-6 bilingual students. Contact: Jennifer McNulty, Public Information, (831) 459-2495, or Roberta Jaffee, Life Lab Executive Director, (831) 459-2001 #### Press Release Home \| Search Press Releases \| Press Release Archive \| Services for Journalists
	Maintained by:pioweb@cats.ucsc.edu