Elementary and middle-school students from nine Dallas Independent School District (ISD) schools participated in PCG’s EPIC Summer Camp from July 16-26. EPIC is a science, technology, and mathematics learning program that aims to prevent the “summer slide,” or loss of learning that can otherwise undo months of educational progress after school ends in June. As part of the program, Dallas ISD students engaged in projects like the one pictured here in which they were challenged to build a bridge at least 12 inches long with no more than 50 beverage straws. Students who built the strongest bridges won special recognition–and got a new appreciation for the engineering calculations that go into producing sturdy, reliable bridges. Plus, they had fun! PCG’s UI team developed the EPIC program as part of its year-round efforts to boost student achievement through daytime tutoring, afterschool programs, summer camps, and educator staffing.

See EPIC pictures and hear from Dallas ISD students in the UI team’s new blog post here.