Summer school might carry negative connotations for some, particularly grownups.
Implied is perhaps the idea that things didn’t go well during the regular academic year, and that a student has to catch up.
But hear out Dr. Eboney Lofton, Oak Park Elementary School District 97 chief learning innovation officer.
She’s got a different story.
“The experience I may have had when I was young, summer school was a certain way, but now that’s not the case,” she said. “Potentially in other spaces, it’s kind of a rehash.
“We’re kind of extending the school year.”
The key word in the district’s summer offerings, which served more than 600 students in early childhood to middle school from early June to early July for the majority of programs, is contained in Lofton’s title – innovation.
That includes partnerships with entities like the Park District of Oak Park, the Oak Park Education Foundation and even Triton College to provide new opportunities for students.
For example, fifth through seventh graders who qualify for Title I supports were able to jump into the Middle School Explore! Program from June 9-27, which for many was their first foray into career exploration. The program was supported by the education foundation and Triton.
Using Percy Julian Middle School as a home base, students traveled to Triton for the College for Kids program the first week for something special.
“They go to Triton, pick a ‘major,’ go through a class with a college instructor, then they showcase on Thursday what they did,” Lofton said.
Middle School Explore! students also were exposed to tutoring and acceleration and other field trips over the full three-week run.
That’s just one example of innovation. Fourth and fifth graders could participate in Summer Robotics Camp at Julian, where they got a taste of designing, building and programming robots. The idea was to develop STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) while fostering creativity and innovation.
In its second year, another solid partnership for the district was with the park district for summer camp for kindergarten through fourth graders, who can pick full- or half-day sessions.
“We wanted to make sure in the (district) equity policy we had those opportunities,” Lofton said. “For our free and reduced lunch students, we wanted to provide support so there were no barriers for registration.”
In sum, Lofton said, student engagement is what matters, because while summer school is voluntary, students can’t learn if they aren’t engaging with teachers like Marvin Childress.
Childress has taught summer school math for 20 years, the last two in District 97 within the Middle School Explore! program. He gets a kick out of those students who realize they’re “getting it.”
“They are all doing work simultaneously and the one thing I enjoy about this program is seeing those kids at the same time have those ‘ah-ha!’ moments,” Childress said. “It’s all about making the student feel good about themselves. In this program, we go day by day. If you can only do one problem on Monday, can you do two problems on Tuesday and do them right?”
Math has a strong emphasis in the summer school STEM Programs, where Summer Robotics Camp fell. For example, Middle School Math Review was hosted at Julian for students who want to maintain skills learned throughout the school year.
“Oak Park D97 has four distinct transformation goals,” said superintendent Dr. Ushma Shah. “The fourth one, ‘We Learn Everywhere,’ includes out-of-school time and summer programming as a district priority.
“This summer, we are partnering smart, redesigning old models and innovating to make the world bigger for all of our students in the summer – and whenever they are not in school.”