Summer College Readiness Program

During this two-week program students will take three classes: College Writing, Executive Functioning and Study Skills, and a lecture-type course. Some key areas of skill development include but are not limited to:

• Applying critical reading and thinking approaches to demonstrate comprehension of assigned topics and readings.
• Taking notes from lectures including note review and revision.
• Writing brief summaries of readings
• Understanding the difference in expectations of high school level and collegiate level writing (summarization vs. analyzation)
• Exploring various methods for completing an academic research paper
• Organizing course materials using a system, for example, the Master Notebook system
• Examining executive function behaviors as they relate to planning, prioritizing, production, and execution of assignments
• Using self-advocacy skills to navigate the academic, residential, and social components of their freshman year experience.

“I appreciate the kindness and compassion of the Landmark faculty and staff. They ‘get’ these kids—they understand them. The Summer Transition Program was great preparation for the ‘real thing.’ My objectives were met: giving my son a taste of independent living in a college-like atmosphere.”

“Thank for the guidance that you all have provided our daughter. Her experience and the tools she acquired at Landmark will serve her well. I look forward to watching her continue to grow, learn, and blossom.”

“This program helped my son get a better handle on the work required at the college level. So far, so good at college! He feels ready to take on anything his professors throw at him. Thank you for a great experience!”

“Our son benefited very much having a dress rehearsal of what he might experience his freshman year and learning about advocating for his accommodations. It gave him confidence that he was, in fact, ready for college. And it helped us feel better about him leaving home. It was a reminder that he’s continuing to grow and achieve in spite of learning differences and personality differences.”

“The feedback at the end of the program was so helpful and reassuring!! Our son also told us of all the great experiences he had this summer. We will be forever grateful”

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to attend the Summer College Readiness program. I look forward to taking what I learned to college with me. It was life changing.”

This is a list of the colleges/universities that the Summer College Readiness students were accepted to:

• Belmont University
• Bennington College
• Brandeis University
• Bunker Hill Community College
• California State University Monterey Bay
• Community College of Vermont
• Cornell University
• Denison
• Evergreen State College
• Florida Atlantic University
• George Fox University
• Georgia College
• Hobart and William Smith Colleges
• James Madison University
• Laurel Ridge Community College
• Lynn University
• Molloy University
• Muhlenberg College
• New England Institute of Technology
• Northeastern University
• Oregon State University
• Palm Beach State College
• Quinnipiac University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rollins College
• Saint Mary's College
• San Diego State University
• Scripps College
• Shepherd University
• Simmons University
• Sonoma State University
• SUNY Purchase College
• Temple University
• UMass Amherst
• University of Denver
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• University of Maryland College Park UMBC
• University of Montana
• University of Northern Texas
• University of Pittsburgh
• Western Washington University
• Woffard College

The Social Pragmatics team will deliver instruction, activities, and programming to help support students who would benefit from social pragmatic support. In addition, there will be social coaching opportunities, as well as parent meetings to supplement what the students will be learning. This support is open to all students.

Session Schedule:

Week One:

• Monday, July 14: PEERS Session 1: Workshop 5:30 – 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 15: Online Activity 6:30 – 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 16: PEERS Session 2: Workshop 5:30 – 7 p.m.
• Thursday, July 17: Online and Off-Campus Activities 6:30 – 8 p.m.
        Parent Sessions 7 – 8 p.m. Eastern—Online

Week Two:

• Monday, July 21: PEERS Session 3: Workshop 5:30 – 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 22: Online Activity 6:30 – 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 23: PEERS Session 4: Workshop 5:30 – 7 p.m.
• Thursday, July 24: Online and Off-Campus Activities 6:30 – 8 p.m.
        Parent Sessions 7 – 8 p.m. Eastern—Online

Individual social coaching sessions will be scheduled during the week.

Core Lecture Course—Issues in Today's World:
In this two-week interdisciplinary course, we will examine several short readings in contemporary culture that illustrate different issues under examination. During the lecture portion of this class, students will practice applying their critical thinking, reading, writing, and notetaking skills introduced in their two other required courses: Executive Function and Study Skills and College Writing. Some of the topics included may be the use of Artificial Intelligence (A.I) by college students, Diversity initiatives and College Enrollment practices, or social media and corporate responsibility, to name a few.

Executive Functioning & Study Skills:This course introduces the academic skills and habits essential for managing college-level courses. Students will learn strategies for improving executive functioning, critical reading, and note-taking. Students will also have the opportunity to directly apply the strategies learned in this class to other classes that are part of the overall summer program.

College Writing:
This series of workshops is designed to help students understand what college teachers expect in terms of writing, give students an opportunity to practice several approaches to short writing assignments, and advance students’ understanding of writing structure and process. Students will practice writing-process strategies in the areas of generating, organizing, summarizing, analyzing, synthesizing, drafting, and editing. A major focus of the workshop is for students to develop and articulate an individual sense of their strengths and difficulties as writers and learners.

Pre-Arrival Sessions:

June 24 – Session 1
Students will join a call to get to know each other and the Readiness staff during a conversation about what it means to be steppong into adulthood and the increased responsibility that comes with more independence. After the call, students will be asked to complete some tasks to continue exploring these themes.

July 1 – Session 2
Students will rejoin the group to share what they have learned. They will reflect on the process of transitioning into emerging adulthood and acting with intentionality to achieve their goals.