A Third Successful Summer for GRACE
Twenty-one students completed GRoton Accelerate Challenge Enrich (GRACE) from July 1–28—the third summer of a program designed to boost students’ readiness for Upper School and propel them toward higher levels of study.
GRACE Scholars choose to reinforce skills or prepare for higher-level courses in one or two subjects, including math, chemistry, English, and Latin.
With three years of experience to assess, GRACE Program Director Dave Prockop P’15, '17 can point to evidence of the summer session’s value. Based on pre-GRACE grades and Fourth Form grades, those who attended GRACE in 2016–17 and 2017–18 and took “A” courses (those designed to fill a preparation gap) saw significant improvement: their grade averages for Fourth Form moved from the lower end toward the class median. “Those grade differences appeared in the fall of Fourth Form and continued throughout the year,” said Mr. Prockop. “That shows that coming into a course with a good foundation can influence success in the entire course.” Students taking B courses (designed to propel them into a higher-level course) also have done extremely well in their more advanced courses in Fourth Form, he added.
With three years of experience to assess, GRACE Program Director Dave Prockop P’15, '17 can point to evidence of the summer session’s value. Based on pre-GRACE grades and Fourth Form grades, those who attended GRACE in 2016–17 and 2017–18 and took “A” courses (those designed to fill a preparation gap) saw significant improvement: their grade averages for Fourth Form moved from the lower end toward the class median. “Those grade differences appeared in the fall of Fourth Form and continued throughout the year,” said Mr. Prockop. “That shows that coming into a course with a good foundation can influence success in the entire course.” Students taking B courses (designed to propel them into a higher-level course) also have done extremely well in their more advanced courses in Fourth Form, he added.
GRACE teachers, all full-time Groton faculty members, praise the more relaxed summer environment. Like the students, they marvel at how much material can be mastered when focusing on only one or two subjects.
The program is not all academic: weekend and evening trips, plus regular afternoon activities, lend an element of summer camp. Excursions off campus this summer included whitewater rafting, an amusement park, ziplining, and an improvisational theater workshop. On-campus activities included games, swimming, and s’mores by the campfire.
On a concluding survey at the program’s end, students reported a fun and worthwhile experience. "You have fun with your friends both in and out of class," commented one student. Said another: "I was genuinely excited to go to class, and the trips were also fun." Perhaps the most important sentiment: "I definitely feel comfortable and generally good heading into the fall term."
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