Summer School Begins Monday

By Erin Davis

June 1, 2002

For approximately 1,100 students in the Mexico School District the meaning of summer vacation has changed. The traditional notion that summer is best spent taking a three-month break from school is being stamped out by a summer school program designed to couple learning with fun.

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade will head back to school Monday to participate in a four-week summer school program. The upcoming summer session marks the second year that the Mexico district has contracted with Edison Schools Inc. to create a new breed of summer school designed to present enrichment activities while helping students develop their skills in core curriculum areas. District officials assert that minor glitchs present in the 2001 summer school session have been addressed and are quick to insist that the program is beneficial to the student, the district and the community.

New York based Edison Schools Inc. is a company designated to developing curriculum-based programs for districts nationwide. This year, Mexico has signed a contract with the company for 23 days of curriculum for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. As part of the contract, Edison has agreed to round up and deliver all of the supplies necessary to teach the curriculum in a format that focuses on hands-on learning.

Proponents for the contract with Edison maintain that the agreement provides material that is developed by curriculum experts and saves countless hours that would be required if local instructors were required to create their own material. In addition, school administrators state that the material presents an appropriate balance between fun and basic subject knowledge.

"It is just not all fun and games. Even though they are doing math and language arts and those kinds of things in a fun way, they are still being taught conceptional skills," notes Assistant Superintendent Roy Moeller.

From 8 a.m. to noon, students will take academic courses in language arts, mathematics, reading, science and social studies. In the afternoon, those same student have the opportunity to participate in one of nearly 30 electives. Afternoon courses range from the art of puzzling, to music performance to media-broadcasting.

"The first four hours are academic. Then the afternoon is filled with what I like to call the renaissance courses which teach kids the qualities of life," reports School Board President Robert Marty.

Administrators and teachers agree that the students are learning valuable information in their core courses and through electives and say that the summer session provides extended opportunities to learn.

Because of the softened structure students have the opportunity to control their own attendance. In order to participate in afternoon sessions students must come in the morning, but they can miss days without penalty.

"Students may want to go to church camp or soccer camp or take a family vacation - they can go to whatever summer school is left," Marty said. "It doesn't hurt. Attendance is not taken in that way. It doesn't count against any grade or anything. Plus you can have visitors. If a student's cousin is here from Omaha for the summer, they can go to

school here."

He went on to note that students benefit by promoting to the next grade level outside the regular school year.

"It has many side benefits," Marty said. "Younger kids go to the grade ahead of themselves. For instance fifth grade graduates are going to go to junior high in summer school. That gives them a free introduction. We find that is one of the sharpest breaking points when kids go from fifth grade where they have been secure all those years, to junior high, which is kind of awesome with bigger kids and a new building. They are going to get a free introduction. "

In addition to benefiting the student, summer school has obvious financial benefits for the district. This year's program is predicted to generate approximately $1 million. The funds generated during the 2001 summer session were significant enough to air-condition every classroom in the district.

"The budget is over a million dollars. Of which, some will go for salaries for teachers aids, drivers and food service," Marty reports. "After those expenses, the school district will realize three to four hundred thousand dollars which is used in the school system for the rest of the year. I am telling you that is a big deal. It is last year's summer school which allowed us to air-condition every room in the school district and therefore we didn't miss any days last year when it got so hot."

Summer school generates funds through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The district is paid by the state as a result of a formula based on student attendance hours. The state department allows attendance hours to be doubled for up to five percent of the student population during summer months.

"The Department of Education put this incentive in there to encourage schools to start a different type of summer school and that is an enrichment summer school, not just a remedial program, and then they doubled the funding in order to encourage schools to do that," Moeller said. "Since they put that in, the number of summer school programs

offered throughout the state changed from a handful to over 300. Every district around us now offers five weeks of summer school and the idea is extending the opportunities to learn.

Marty agrees.

"We do it because the state encourages us to do it," he said. "The state encourages us to do it because it is beneficial to the child."

Another apparent advantage of the program is the availability of free meals. All students and faculty have the opportunity to eat breakfast and lunch at no cost. Students are even allowed to have seconds and thirds. In addition, the program allows anybody in grades kindergarten through eighth grade to eat for free.

"Anybody K-18 can be fed at breakfast and lunch whether they are going to school or not. They can come in and eat. We've never had that happen but this program specifically states you will feed anybody from K through 18 whether in school or not. We would like to have them in school but we are going to feed them regardless. What is the idea? We are trying to get good food in kids for another 23 days," said Marty.

Administrators say that summer school's final benefit is its contributions to the community. The program employs 50 teachers, seven classroom aides and 14 bus drivers. A total of 12 employees will work in food service during summer school.

"This is just like a mini industry but better," Marty said. "You have almost 80 employees for one month who weren't getting paid before."