County's summer school takes a lighter approach
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on July 13, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Kindergarten students enrolled in the Summer Reading Program work on sight words in a small-group activity Thursday at Meadow Lane Elementary.
Summer school has changed a lot over the years.
Many picture students spending hot summer days sitting at classroom desks trying to pay attention to the teacher in the front of the room, an occasional break for recess.
Even with a few name changes -- like focused intervention -- it was still school.
That is all changing, officials say, as Wayne County Public Schools worked to create a lighter approach to learning.
This marks the third year for the Summer Reading Camps, which kicked off recently at 12 area elementary schools. The theme is "Making Independent Learners."
It still ties in to the state's "Read to Achieve" legislation but there is fun written all over it, says Carol Artis, director of elementary education with WCPS.
"We're very committed to it not being just kind of a boring punishment for the children," she said. "We want it to be hands on, fun, cultivate a love of reading."
The latest half-day session -- students attend from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., with breakfast and lunch provided -- has drawn anywhere from 100 to 200 students at each site, or approximately 1,000-2,000 total.
Smaller class sizes, with between eight and 12 in each class, allows them to accomplish more, Ms. Artis said.
"The things you're not able to get done during the school year," she said.
And yet, it is optional to attend.
"We're required by the legislation to offer it to any child that needs extra reading support in order to make it to third-grade reading proficiency," Ms. Artis said.
Third-graders are required to take the Read to Achieve test, but students can do that without attending any of the summer program, she added.
WCPS has been more proactive than some districts in its summer programming.
"In the past two years across the state it has only been for third grades," she said. "But WCPS has had it for K-3 the whole time.
"This year the state expanded it to grades 1-3 so we're going above and beyond."
The heaviest emphasis is on reading, although content areas like science are also included.
"The basic infrastructure is to build reading skills and foster a love of reading," she explained. "We have worked in recess. Realizing that it's hot outside, a lot of time is not spent outside but instead we're having more activities inside. They're going to computer lab, science-based stations, things like that that they're active still," she said.
The building blocks of reading are essential, especially for third-graders lagging behind on end-of-grade tests.
"At the end of the year, third-grade students take the end-of-grade test," she explained. "For those students who are not rated proficient, they have the option to be coming to the summer camp."
A version of the test is repeated at program's end, testing the same skills and with the same rigor. If the student is rated proficient, he can be promoted to the fourth grade. If not, the promotion comes with strings attached, in the form of a "reading retained" label. As a fourth-grader, he will receive 90 minutes a day of intensive reading intervention.
"They'll take that test again in November," she said. "If they're proficient there, the label comes off and they continue on. If not, the rating stays and they continue to get intense reading intervention."
At the end of the fourth-grade year, the student is again assessed before moving on.
"They're given multiple chances for support," Ms. Artis said.
The summer reading camp can be an integral, and beneficial, part of the process.
"Feedback from teachers and children is that doing it as a camp and doing it this way and not making it a mandate, inviting parents to participate, I've got nothing but positive feedback," she said.
The convenience of having it offered at elementary schools across the county has likely helped improve the attendance, she said.
"When I came into this position, this is the only way that I chose to do it so I don't have any baseline data from when it was done before," she said. "When I was principal at North Drive, (then one of a few offering the summer program) I didn't have a lot of children that came from the rural areas, mostly from the central attendance area and Meadow Lane.
"I don't have data to compare but common sense could assume that this (way) does make attendance higher."
The summer reading camps operate Monday through Thursday, running through July 28.
Funding for the program comes from several sources, Ms. Artis said.
"It's allocated from the state, for teachers, teacher assistants, curriculum coaches, and we're providing them transportation and breakfast and lunch," she said. "The transportation piece is the biggest piece. It's the most expensive piece because it goes across this county.
"In talking with my fellow directors, a lot of our neighboring counties have one camp. But we have made it district-specific because we want our children to come. We want them to be able to still have access to do this. We're hoping that helps."
Title I is also part of the partnership, making it possible to include kindergarten students in the program, Ms. Artis said.