Invitations should be going out May 3 to parents of students eligible for the Fauquier County School Division’s Summer Academy. Funded through the federal CARES Act, the eight-week, in-person program is intended to help students who have fallen behind academically during the pandemic. It will be divided into two four-week sessions.
A total of $2,970,667 in CARES Act funding has been earmarked for the Summer Academy.
The CARES Act grant states, “Summer school programs will emphasize the learning loss among students, including low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness and children and youth in foster care.”
Director of Instruction Amy Acors said that there are very specific guidelines associated with the CARES funding, and the Fauquier program will focus on improving reading and math skills. The Summer Academy “will be a fun and interactive experience that will meet children where they are,” Acors said. Organizers hope to integrate art, music, movement in the lessons, with short, local “field trips” to keep students engaged.
Kathy Crane, elementary literacy and Title I coordinator, said that Fauquier elementary school principals recommended that third and fourth graders not be included in the summer program, “unless there is a significant discrepancy in reading levels. Our main goal is to work with the younger grades.” She said there will be a special after-school program in the fall for third and fourth graders.
Acors confirmed that for the summer program, “based on the amount of funding, we decided to target students who had had the least amount of time in school, so the early years became our focus.” (Students in grade 5 and higher are also eligible for Summer Academy.)
Principals are supplying lists of potential Summer Academy students to the school division.
Acors said that parents will have two weeks to let the school division know if their child will attend. Responses are due May 14.
The Summer Academy’s two sessions will run June 7 to 22 and July 6 to 24 – from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Every school will be engaged; transportation will be provided, and breakfast and lunch will be served. Students could be invited to attend one session or both, depending on each school’s capacity.
For children who are making the transition to another school in the fall – rising sixth or nineth graders – they will attend Summer Academy at the school they’ll be transitioning to. Acors said, “It’s a great way to introduce students to their new school and to begin developing those relationships. They’ll be working on more than academics. This last year has been tough. Summer Academy will help ease them in” to the next phase.
Staffing for the Summer Academy is still being worked out, but Acors said that at least 100 teachers have applied for the program. “We are hoping to keep the teacher/student ratio at 1-10 or 1-12. We are hoping to keep the ratios low so that we can provide individualized instruction as much as possible.”
Assessments
Acors said that since March, students have been undergoing assessments to determine where they are in their learning. Every child who currently attends in-person school has been assessed, she said, and virtual learners have been invited in for assessments as well.
The goal, said Acors, is to ascertain which students need some extra help to reach their grade-level goals. The assessments will also be used to guide Summer Academy teachers to meet individual needs.
Crane said that reading assessments are ongoing. Kindergarten students, for instance, are assessed for early reading skills – sounds and rhymes, alphabet knowledge and some word recognition. First graders have a spelling piece they are assessed on as well. She said student assessments are completed during one-on-one, in-person sessions with the teacher.
Crane said, “We like to talk about ‘learning leaps’ instead of ‘learning loss.’”
Angie Ashley, mathematics instructional supervisor, said that the window for student assessments for the summer program opened in mid-April. Kindergarteners are assessed for the ability to see patterns, their number sense and shapes, and some simple problem solving for numbers up to 10.
First and second graders are assessed on their understanding of number combinations and place values.
As children age, they are assessed to see how they are growing in their math skills. “It’s not enough to know they are struggling,” said Ashley, “we need to know how to help them.” She added, “We get a really nice report showing where they need help, topics they are having trouble with.”
Math assessments are also given in person. “It’s tough when we have kids who are still not coming into the building, although I completely understand that choice.”
Steven Payne, English supervisor for secondary schools, provided details on the assessment process for middle and high school students: “Teachers and administrators at the middle and high school levels are working together to examine data including STAR Reading assessments, to identify students with the greatest needs for summer programming. STAR Reading has been provided as an instructional tool to help teachers set literacy goals with students and monitor student progress. We are currently in the planning stages for the literacy part of Summer Academy, and our goal is to provide a personalized learning experience.”
Special Education programs
Angie Gum, special education supervisor for the school division, said that about 70 special education students in second to sixth grades could be included in a program that will focus on reading. The Linda Moodbell program will be held during the same two sessions as the Summer Academy, in classrooms in three different elementary schools – depending on the demographics of the children who are chosen for the program.
Gum said that one group of students will focus on decoding – how a child is able to break down sounds to create word; the other group will focus on reading comprehension. The ratio of students to teachers will be kept low, so children can get plenty of individual attention.
Kristen Ott, assessment resource teacher and Extended School Year coordinator, said that the annual Extended School Year program is intended for students with significant cognitive disabilities, through their Individual Education Plan. Fifteen to 30 teachers will teach between 50 to 100 students who need this special attention. Some will have homebound services and others will come into school for the four-week sessions, which will coincide with the Summer Academy sessions.
Other summer programs
Also this summer, public high schools in the county will be offering credit recovery classes for students who have failed a class. SOL remediation will be available for students who have passed a class but failed the associated SOL exam.
Drivers education will also be offered for students who need to complete the classroom portion of the course.
Acors said, “Everybody has been going above and beyond to make this happen for our students.” She acknowledged that the school division has run summer programs before, but “it’s been a long time since we ran something on this scale.”
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School division's Summer Academy will focus on learning loss - Fauquier Times
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