Making Use of Summer Time

Abstract

EVERY WORKDAY morning, I pop in my exercise video and follow whichever one of 20 different sessions is up that day. If I were to go to a gym on my own, I would tend to do my favorite or most familiar exercises, I might have to wait for equipment to be free, and I might have to rest because I was concentrating on the same muscle group for the whole workout. With the video, I'm able to work almost nonstop because while I'm working my biceps, my triceps and shoulders are resting; while I do my shoulders, my biceps are resting. I need regimentation, but I can't afford to waste any time. Such an efficient use of time -- spending it only on effective activities and focusing on particular skills -- contributes to my health. And if there's a particular area I need to strengthen, I dedicate more time to it. So it is with schools and students. Additional time is essential for struggling readers or for those having difficulty with math concepts, but the time spent on extended learning must also be spent effectively. If Tammy attends summer school or an after-school session in which time is spent on material she's already learned, if she is taught in the same way as she was taught when she failed to learn the first time, or if she is presented with material unconnected to or below the level of knowledge expected in next year's classroom, she won't gain as much from her experience. Strengthening Summer School When the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) published Summer School: Unfulfilled Promise in June 2002, it focused on the potential for high- quality summer to help struggling students avoid failure. The report suggests seven features to improve the effectiveness of summer school programs. Here are SREB's seven features, along with some examples of how state policies might support each of them. 1. Summer school should be an integral part of a year-round program of extra time and extra help. Last year, H.B. 626 in Kentucky authorized the commissioner of education to approve district requests for waivers that would allow the district to use grants awarded for extending the day, week, or year to support alternative service delivery options, including offered during the school day. Two years ago, California passed a law (Chapter No. 582) requiring that, when selecting schools to participate in the After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Partnerships Program, the state department give primary emphasis to the capacity of applicants to facilitate integration of the program with the regular school day and with other extended learning opportunities. In 1999 Arkansas lawmakers repealed the state's mandatory summer school and replaced it with just in time' remediation (H.B. 1212). One way of delivering that remediation can be summer school. Finally, in Maryland, academic intervention programs are defined as those that take place before or after school, on weekends, or during holidays, vacations, or summer break. The state provides grants to county boards for that meet certain criteria. In his 2003 state-of-the-state address, Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove proposed bringing kindergartners to the classroom two months before the start of their kindergarten year and keeping them there two months after. He called the program Summer Start. 2. Summer school should be available to all failing students at no cost to parents. Most states that support extended learning time provide grants to districts or schools. In cases where there is no state support, districts have tapped federal and local sources of funds. It appears that most are provided at no charge to parents. However, policies that target failing students can be quite specific about who qualifies for which benefits. For example, North Dakota state board policy 67-24-01-05 specifies that students must be in grades 1 through 8 to qualify for proportionate payments; they must also score below the 60th percentile on a standardized or teacher- developed test or have a grade of C or lower in the previous school term. …