"I think it's much more intensive," said Superintendent of Schools Bobbie J. D'Alessandro. "There's going to be rigor in terms of helping students who did not do well on the MCAS."

On Monday, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution expressing "extreme disappointment" with the University for not matching its $5 million gift to Boston in Cambridge.

Many councillors said the difference in money between the Boston and Cambridge initiatives shows the University has ignored the needs of local schools.

"The people of Cambridge don't understand how Harvard, which lives in Cambridge, can turn its back on Cambridge's children," said Councillor Henrietta Davis.

But, though Cambridge Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio sponsored the resolution, he called the Summer Academy program "an important step."

"This is obviously a good step at getting the school of education involved with our frontline education people," he said in an interview last week. "It's a concrete program with concrete goals and direct accountability to Harvard."