Summer school aims to bridge the gap of lost learning during Helene
May 28—Students in Haywood County have a key opportunity this summer to recover valuable instructional time lost to Hurricane Helene and winter weather, with programs available to support learning and allow for retakes of end-of-grade and end-of-course tests.
"I encourage parents to participate in this program. Take advantage of this," said Haywood County Schools Board Chairman Chuck Francis.
The program can be particularly beneficial for students who struggled this year, given that they missed 22 days thanks to Helene and winter weather.
While Haywood County Schools is sixth in the state in academic performance, up from seventh last year, Superintendent Dr. Trevor Putnam isn't sure if Haywood can hold onto its high rank due to the disruption in learning from Helene.
"We are down 200 plus instructional hours. I still think we will be in the running, but it will be hard to give up 200 hours of instructional time and compete with schools that had a full year," Putnam said. "You can't create 200 hours out of thin air."
However, "we are going to get as many instructional hours back in the summer as possible," Putnam said.
But it's more than just those hours missed.
"It's not just the 22 days, but you think about the crisis and turmoil the kids were in after that," said Assist. Superintendent Jill Barker. "It's not just the 22 days. It's been more than that. We're trying to mitigate that."
School leaders were also faced with the challenge of piecing together multiple different funding sources to provide the programs, as some money came from the state and some came from the federal level.
They also had to face the challenge of making sure they achieved all of the requirements attached to the money for each program.
"There's different rules for transportation. There's different rules for food," Barker said.
Some students will have the opportunity to re-test before the school year is out, while others will have the opportunity to re-test during the summer program.
"Kids that need intensive intervention, we're encouraging them to come to the summer program and re-test at the end of June," Barker said. "It is to mitigate lost instruction for kids. ... We are just trying to have that opportunity for kids that want to come."
Following are some of the programs offered.
Read to Achieve
Students in kindergarten through third grade can take part in the Read to Achieve program. Read to Achieve Program will include phonics instruction, writing and specific reading intervention strategies. Transportation and meals (breakfast and lunch) will be provided.
The Read to Achieve program is funded with state dollars, while Haywood County Schools is chipping in from Title I funds to add kindergarteners to the program.
Building Master Builders
Students in fourth or fifth grade have the opportunity to take part in the Building Master Builders program, which focuses on math and reading with some sciences added in.
"They'll be doing YouCubed summer math, which includes math and reading. They'll also have some enrichment activities that will vary by school," Haywood County Schools Title I Director Charly Inman said.
Those enrichment activities include the Science Olympiad, drones and Legos.
Summer YouCubed
Middle schoolers can take part in the Summer YouCubed Math Program.
The programs aimed at fourth through eighth graders are being funded by state dollars, coming from the School Extension Learning Recovery Program, a direct response to Helene's impact.
"That money will definitely cover all of the teachers and bus drivers. We're also able to get a director for each school," Inman said.
Students in eighth grade or below will receive a meal. There will also be buses for students.
Credit recovery for high school
High school students can participate in a credit-recovery program in order to avoid falling behind. The high school program will not offer food, as each session will be about two hours shorter than those for the younger grades. High schoolers will also not attend on Fridays.
Participation is voluntary in each of the summer programs, so parents or guardians make the decision. Parent notifications regarding students who could benefit from the service have already gone out. The help sessions will last three to four weeks, starting June 10. Classes are taught by local teachers.
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