Some Greene County parents will receive what may be perceived as bad news at parent-teacher conferences next week. The district’s new literacy policy, which requires that students not proficient at reading either attend summer school or be retained at their current grade level, is now in effect.
Teachers have assessed the reading skills of struggling students all year so that they can tailor their teaching to each student’s needs. They’ve also been encouraged to keep parents posted on their children’s progress. Parents of children not proficient according to their score on the Iowa assessment received letters recently. With the end of the school year near, teachers are almost ready to identify the students who will be required to attend summer school in order to be promoted. They will have conversations with parents at conferences next week, with a final decision based on one last assessment in May.
An opportunity – District reading specialist Julie Neal at the J-S board’s April 16 meeting explained that school staff hopes to help parents realize that attending summer school is an opportunity for students, not a punishment. “If a student passes the Iowa Assessment they’re ‘good to go,’ but if their STAR (assessment) is not as stellar and their grades are not as stellar, we are highly going to recommend summer school as an opportunity for your child to get better at reading,” Neal said. “We’re giving children an opportunity to improve their reading. There’s a positive spin to it.”
Neal also talked about the positive benefits of summer school at the East Greene board of education later that evening. About a dozen East Greene students will be asked to take summer school to guarantee being passed to the next grade level.
In the J-S district, elementary principal Scott Johnson estimates between 60 and 70 students are not yet proficient in reading at their grade level. According to Iowa Assessment scores, 83 percent of the students have met grade level proficiency. He expects that to be 86 percent by the end of the school year.
“I want people to understand that not everybody learns at the same rate. My goal would be year-round school in some way, shape or form. We’re giving children an opportunity for extended learning. This isn’t a bad thing,” superintendent Tim Christensen said about summer school.
“The school is spending extra money on those kids. We’re investing in them,” said school board member David Ohrt.
“People need to understand this isn’t a state-forced thing,” board member Sam Harding said. “We’re imposing this because we want our kids to have this opportunity. We want them to get up to where they belong. The state isn’t forcing our hand.”
Retention possible for students who don’t attend – According to the literacy policy, students who attend summer school will be promoted to the next grade even if they haven’t met grade level proficiency. Students who do not attend summer school will be tested during the August school registration period and will not be placed in the next grade if they aren’t proficient.
Schedule – Five four-day weeks of summer school are scheduled. Students will attend from 9:30 to 11: 30 am Monday through Thursday the weeks beginning June 9, June 16, July 14, July 21 and July 28. Parents are encouraged to plan vacation schedules accordingly, although there is some flexibility with parents who are willing to help students work through assignments if they can’t attend all of the sessions.
Summer school is not available for students who are reading at grade level or above. Like previous years, parents are encouraged to take advantage of local library’s summer reading programs and to make sure their children read for recreation during the summer break.
In the East Greene district, all elementary students will be invited to a two-day Boot Camp in August before the start of school to prepare them to “hit the books” again.
