Learning Academy 2024: The Largest Class Yet

Forty-five students — the largest Learning Academy cohort yet — spent the eighth summer of the program working through reading, math, English Language Development and writing at the Steele-Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center. Full-day classes ran July 2 through August 1, 2024, over 100 hours of tuition-free instruction for every student enrolled.

By the eighth year, the model was settled: small classes grouped by need rather than strictly by grade, hands-on projects built around the reading and math lessons, and a teacher-to-student ratio close enough that no one could quietly fall behind for a week without someone noticing.

Three-quarters of second- and third-grade students finished the summer at grade level. Among the fourth- and fifth-graders — the group working on the harder “reading to learn” transition rather than “learning to read” — a quarter finished at or above grade level, a smaller share but real progress against a much steeper climb.

Attendance and academic gains told only part of the story; the program also leaned on incentives that made the month feel less like extra school and more like something students wanted to show up for — laptops for perfect attendance, art projects, and a closing ceremony that gave every finishing student a moment in front of the whole cohort.

The eighth summer, in six photos