Summer school offers learning, fun

Dalton Smith didn't have to attend summer school, but said the prospect of creating art drew him in.

Students, teachers and administrators in Scott City, Jackson and Cape Girardeau say subjects such as art, Spanish, keyboarding and courses with a sports emphasis are attracting students to what sometimes had been perceived as drudgery.

Smith, who will enter fifth grade at Scott City Middle School in the fall, has attended summer school a few times, mostly for something to keep him occupied. "All I would do is stare at a TV screen and play Xbox," he said.

Smith, one of 421 students attending summer school in the Scott City School District this year, said the elementary edition of the program is really fun.

"You learn a lot and you get to spend time with your friends that you don't usually see in the summer," plus new students attend summer school, so it's a chance to meet them, Smith said. He and one of the summer schoolteachers note that the program helps when returning to school in the fall.

Isaiah Davis sits in the danger zone as his friend knocks down pins with a bowling ball Tuesday during the students’ summer school physical education class at South Elementary in Jackson. (Laura Simon)

When kids don't attend, he said, they forget things, like math. "If you go to summer school, it slaps some memory into you," Smith said.

Brady Fischer takes his turn keeping his group’s bowling score Tuesday during the students’ summer school physical education class at South Elementary in Jackson. (Laura Simon)

Area summer schools at the elementary, middle and junior high level have tried to focus on enrichment courses as opposed to credit recovery, although that remains in play for high school students.

Scott City

Like her colleagues, first-grade teacher Carie Boswell is working with students from 7:40 a.m. to 4:10 p.m., about an hour and a half longer than a regular school day, which is new this year. But students take a field trip on Thursdays and get Fridays off. There also is a project hour in which children do everything from sewing to construction to game club for an hour at day's end, which has been a big hit.

One way teachers and administrators know the program is successful is lack of absenteeism. Scott City Elementary School principal Courtney Kern said 263 students are in elementary summer school. Some have taken off for preapproved vacations, but otherwise, it's been steady because kids are engaged.

"It usually drops off more," Kern said. "Kids want to be here."

Boswell said her class still does reading and writing, but there's no homework. Students in Boswell's class and throughout the elementary school have jobs in the morning, such as greeting or getting classrooms set up, which they had to apply for.

" ... You can do a lot more fun projects because you're not tied to a curriculum," Boswell said.

Students also are filling in leadership self-checklists to make sure they are wearing dress code-appropriate clothing, such as a polo shirt, belt and pants. Kern said kids get prizes and mystery rewards for following the rules, such as restaurant certificates, extra recess and Popsicles.

Tanner Crossen, 7, and Lawson Graff and Allison Bryant, both 8, are all going into third grade at Scott City Elementary School. They all said they signed up because they heard summer school was going to be fun. Their favorite activities are project hour and gym.

Christian Adams raises his hand for assistance with his tablet computer Tuesday at South Elementary in Jackson. (Laura Simon)

Jackson

With 1,265 students in kindergarten through high school enrolled at Jackson summer school, associate superintendent personnel/instruction Matt Lacy said enrollment is healthy. About half the students are going to summer elementary school, which is meant to be fun with a healthy dose of learning and, this year, a Disney theme.

Students attending the program at South Elementary School run through keyboarding, Spanish, gym, recess, some CSI-style sleuthing and more.

Summer school director Mandee Stricker said students have to work 20 minutes on typing before they can do something fun, like play with a district-approved computer application.

Kindergartners learn letter identification that gets progressively harder. After work, they get to enjoy Tumblebooks, in which an author reads his or her book in different voices. First- and second-graders tackle phonics, while third- through fifth-graders do keyboarding.

Nine-year-old Tony Terry, going into fourth grade this fall, has attended summer school since kindergarten. He's enjoying PE, typing and seeing his friends. Attending summer school, he said, is an advantage because it will help him increase his typing speed, meet new friends and improve his reading.

"I'm working on my fluency," Terry said.

During PE, teacher Zack Walton was putting students through their paces on a climbing wall. In line with the Disney theme, when kids made it to the halfway point, they were at Epcot Center, and once they made it all the way, they reached the Magic Kingdom.

Walton, who usually teaches PE at South, said this is the first year physical education has been incorporated into elementary summer school, usually including a warm-up game followed by a main activity. "Instead of just doing more of a recess, now we have more of an organized time for the kids," he said.

Jasmine Mercurio, a 9-year-old entering fourth grade at West Lane Elementary School, said summer school gets kids out of the house. "It gives us a chance to explore school in a whole different way," said Jasmine, who has gone to summer school since kindergarten.

Central High School

At the high school in Cape Girardeau, assistant principal Nancy Scheller said enrollment is about 125 students taking one or two courses. All together, the district had 581 students, up from 570 last year.

The majority of students at the high school attend to recover credit, Scheller said in an email. But students who complete their summer school courses won't have to repeat them during the school year and may move on to the next course in that subject area, she wrote.

Also, some seniors who did not have enough credits to graduate will be able to complete those courses and receive their diplomas.

Alena Medrano, Al Young and Jalen Reddin are all going because they need to, although some students attend to raise their grades.

Medrano, 17, is going into her junior year, and has attended summer school before.

"I tend to get it more in summer school than actual school," she said, adding the classes are smaller and there is more work. But she doesn't mind because it's less distracting and it is easier to get help from teachers there.

Young and Reddin said last time they were in summer school, there was recess. However, they agreed with Medrano. "You learn better than you did in class," and get help more quickly, Young said.

Both boys said they can get a lot done in a couple of weeks. "You're more focused," Reddin said. "If you want to get it done, you will."

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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