Summer School Extends Learning; 2012 Dates Set

At every regular School Board meeting, our Educational Services Division presents a report focused on our district's goal of high achievement for all students.  At the September meeting, Tracy Smith, executive director for School Improvement, gave an overview of the district's summer school program.


In C-FB ISD, we are fortunate to provide an extensive summer school that accommodated 4,574 students in 11 different programs. In our summer school, we have similar services found in C-FB ISD during the regular school year.

As educators analyze the research of what happens to the achievement of most students after summer break, we find that their test scores are usually one month lower in the fall when they return to school. The analysis also suggests that the summer regression is more pronounced in math than in reading.

Through summer school, students improve their academic skills or even explore new learning. This past summer, we modified our program in some instructional areas to strengthen academic achievement. One such change was to institute a fifth and eighth grade retest center for the students who were attending summer school because they did not pass TAKS during the school year. The teachers did excellent work focusing on the specific instructional needs of these students. Although we saw mixed achievement results, the students were better prepared for this school year.

We are also pleased with BRIDGES, a new program created to assist students who are struggling with their learning. This three-week program held just prior to the start of school gave students an academic boost and helped them with goal setting for the 2011-12 year as well as with leadership skill development.

Along with these modifications, we had "traditional" offerings such as our high school program where students earned credits either to accelerate or to recover credits.  Our high school students earned 1,246 half credits this summer.

Along with course credits and helping students improve their academics, we also had enrichment options.  Students participated in all types of fun classes through Exploration Academy, SAGE, and Amateur Naturalist.  The whole key of these programs is to learn reading, writing, math and science in innovative ways.

A long-time summer program, Learning the Language, continues to give our pre-kindergartners and kindergartners more time to hone their English.  The program focuses on student-centered activities and ends the summer with a special open house with students sharing the English they learned through songs and activities.

The district believes that our summer school is an important piece of the instructional program.  To reach the district's goal of high achievement for all, we know some students need more instructional time than what is available in the regular school year.  And, summer school is the answer.  For other students, summer school is time for them to take their learning above and beyond.  The teachers, principals and the instructional team who work in our summer school do an incredible job in creating a positive learning atmosphere.  Their efforts combined with the rest of the operational team allow our district to offer quality, diverse programs that meet individual learning needs.

The C-FB ISD instructional team is so committed to continuous improvement that plans are already underway for next year. The staff has begun curriculum planning as well as detetermined the dates for 2012 summer school.  By having the schedule set early, we believe that families and staff can plan ahead.