Providing a Summer of Joy through STEAM Field Trips

K-12 STEAM education

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Significant opportunity gaps exist between students of color and those living in poverty compared to their wealthier peers, and these gaps are exacerbated during the summer months. The summer months lead to “summer slide,” where students can lose up to one month of academic learning. Furthermore, there is a stark divide in the level of exposure and access to learning opportunities between students in low-income communities and their wealthier peers. A 2018 NCES study found that students from wealthier households attend summer day camps at 5 times the rate of students from poor households, resulting in disparate exposure to diverse activities and visits to places like art galleries, museums, or historical sites. Experiential opportunities, like field trips, are critical for bridging these opportunity gaps. Field trips are often the only opportunities for students to visit areas outside their immediate neighborhood or take advantage of the assets within their community.

By providing students with immersive field trip opportunities over the summer and access to learning experiences that they otherwise may not be exposed to, we are helping to close the opportunity gap between students of color and those living in poverty and their wealthier peers. We will provide at least 50 Title 1 LAUSD schools with field trips over summer in 2025. We will partner with cultural institutions, venues, and nonprofit partners across Los Angeles to design STEAM-focused trip experiences. We aim to serve at least 2,500 students. By participating in these field trips, students will draw meaningful connections between the STEAM concepts they are learning during the school year with real-world experiences, while also being exposed to the rich landscape of cultural and environmental venues available across our city and County. The field trips will include a variety of hands-on activities that incorporate various STEAM concepts. Venues include Los Angeles cultural, arts and/or science institutions. Examples of past field trips include learning about the intersection of STEM and sports through a curated Dodgers baseball game experience, exploring planetary science and the history of dinosaurs at the Discovery Cube, and an Olympics-themed trip where students learn various STEM concepts through different sports activities hosted in partnership with the EXPO Center, the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department, and Science of Sport.

Our success will result in helping close the opportunity gap for Los Angeles County students of color and those living in poverty. Our field trips expand social capital and student knowledge of academic concepts, career opportunities and pathways in growing STEAM fields. The inspiration from these STEAM field trips will spark curiosity and a joy for learning. Students will be provided access to opportunities that can improve their life trajectory so they can lead thriving adult lives.

Our Summer of Joy initiative expands summer enrichment opportunities and helps close opportunity gaps for students of color and those living in poverty. In 2024, Summer of Joy is supporting over 600 summer enrichment sites run by LAUSD, charters, and the City of LA Recreation and Parks Department. We provide expanded enrichment in STEM, arts, sports and field trips, as well as professional development for staff. To measure our impact, we have conducted family focus groups and student surveys. In our pre and post surveys, we found that students attending had higher growth across survey outcomes such as self-efficacy, engagement, and sense of belonging. The largest gains were made in expanding social capital, especially from visiting new places through field trips. Families affirmed the need for expanded enrichment opportunities. We also collect enrollment and attendance data to monitor how our enhancement increases participation.

The LAUSD Beyond the Bell Branch is our main partner in our Summer of Joy collaboration and runs the district's summer enrichment programs. LAUSD Beyond the Bell identifies and prioritizes high-needs schools with representation across all 7 board districts to receive additional field trip opportunities, and coordinates closely with GPSN on field trip opportunity scoping, planning, and implementation.