Publication Date
January 2013
Abstract
Drawing upon Ernest Boyer’s (1996) conception of the scholarship of engagement, this case study systematically integrates service and research and shows how quality empirical research can make meaningful differences in children’s lives. Proposed by The Giving Tree, a non-profit community organization located in metropolitan Green Bay, Wisconsin, this collaborative community-university project addresses issues of access to educational resources for economically disadvantaged youth. Using de-identified 2010 spring and fall test scores, this research assesses how summer gains and losses vary by student socio-economic status and summer school attendance. The application of social science expertise provides quality assessment measures for programmatic implementation and legitimates community organizations attempting to foster philanthropic support which prize empirical measures of assessment and evaluation.