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South Berwyn School District 100 has revealed changes to its summer school program that staff hope will benefit students in need of a little extra help.
The biggest change — pushing summer school back to the end of summer — could become a minor change with big dividends.
“We're attaching it to the beginning of the school year, whereas before we went from the end of school in June right into summer school. What happens then is those kids go home for a month and there's still that summer learning loss,” explained Amanda Vanderhill, District 100's summer program director.
The program will focus on what Vanderhill called the “boost group,” or those children slightly below meeting expectations. Those students will receive 56 hours of literacy training, as well as clubs and sports groups to make the program more appealing.
By moving the program to the end of summer, Vanderhill said students catch up and carry that momentum into the new school year, rather than reviewing the previous year and forgetting that information during summer break. The revamped program will be called Jump Start.
“The more hours of focused literacy instruction the students get, the more likely it is that the boost group students will actually get boosted into the meeting-requirements group of students,” Vanderhill said. “We're hoping to see at least one year of growth in reading in just those 56 hours. It's kind of amazing that it's doable, but it is.”
District 100 also will be moving all its summer school programs to one group location: the conjoined Emerson Elementary and Freedom Middle schools buildings.
The program, which runs in the mornings only Mondays through Thursdays, will begin July 11 and run through August 4. Students will have about one week off before returning to their regular school for the full school year.
District 100's summer school program is free, but students must be chosen by their teachers as students who need extra help.
South Berwyn School District 100 has revealed changes to its summer school program that staff hope will benefit students in need of a little extra help.
The biggest change — pushing summer school back to the end of summer — could become a minor change with big dividends.
“We're attaching it to the beginning of the school year, whereas before we went from the end of school in June right into summer school. What happens then is those kids go home for a month and there's still that summer learning loss,” explained Amanda Vanderhill, District 100's summer program director.
The program will focus on what Vanderhill called the “boost group,” or those children slightly below meeting expectations. Those students will receive 56 hours of literacy training, as well as clubs and sports groups to make the program more appealing.
By moving the program to the end of summer, Vanderhill said students catch up and carry that momentum into the new school year, rather than reviewing the previous year and forgetting that information during summer break. The revamped program will be called Jump Start.
“The more hours of focused literacy instruction the students get, the more likely it is that the boost group students will actually get boosted into the meeting-requirements group of students,” Vanderhill said. “We're hoping to see at least one year of growth in reading in just those 56 hours. It's kind of amazing that it's doable, but it is.”
District 100 also will be moving all its summer school programs to one group location: the conjoined Emerson Elementary and Freedom Middle schools buildings.
The program, which runs in the mornings only Mondays through Thursdays, will begin July 11 and run through August 4. Students will have about one week off before returning to their regular school for the full school year.
District 100's summer school program is free, but students must be chosen by their teachers as students who need extra help.
