Schools Find Ways to Continue Summer Services in Tight Times
By Paul Gingras

Tight economic conditions have reduced the number of summer school programs in the region, but three area districts, Les Cheneaux Community Schools, Mackinaw City Public Schools, and St. Ignace Area Schools, maintain varying styles of summer services.

St. Ignace Area Schools has taken a unique approach by offering a take-home program designed to help kindergarten through sixth grade students retain information in the warm months between grades.

The program is called the Grand Rapids Academic Summer Program (GRASP), which was developed downstate and purchased by the local school district. Students work at home and send scores back to the school.

"The concept is that students loose skills over the summer," said LaSalle Principal Don Gustafson, formerly the middle school principal.

Traditionally, to compensate for this problem, educators re-teach the previous year's critical skills each fall. Since students often forget key concepts over the summer, the GRASP program was instituted as an organized review program.

It is not a program designed for parents to teach new skills, however, and the district does not advocate such an approach.

GRASP has nine sections, called modules, and parents can order packets in mathematics, reading, or both.

It is a low intensity program, although getting children to focus on academics during the summer

can be a chore, Mr. Gustafson admitted. Still, "the benefits are clear," he said.

Each module can be completed in one sitting, once per week, in roughly 30 to 45 minutes. The more involvement parents give, the better, he said, but parents do not have to be teachers, primarily because GRASP is a review program.

Upon finishing a module, the student fills out an answer sheet and sends it to the school. The administration sends scores back for parent and student review.

"Parents may have to help students at times," Mr. Gustafson said, "especially the younger ones." He encourages parents to go over the questions that students get wrong, but the primary way in which parents are involved with GRASP is to provide "a little prodding," and to "foster a learning environment" for their children.

Any parent and student interaction is a positive, he said. A minimum commitment from parents is to agree to purchase the programs, which cost $13 for a nine-module packet, set up a schedule, and provide supervision. The school does not profit from the GRASP program, he added.

GRASP is not a magical method of achieving academic standards, Mr. Gustafson said. Although students in the program tend to do well in school, that tends to be the case whenever parents and students maintain academic interaction, he added.

Fall review sessions will continue, of course, but having more students in class who have retained critical skills "can be nothing but beneficial," Mr. Gustafson said.

The GRASP program has been criticized for increasing the divide between the "haves and havenots," Mr. Gustafson said, but he said he believes GRASP is only one of myriad ways parents can help students retain skills.

"Even reading to kids or having them read to you can help a great deal," he said.

Academic standards per grade level are rising, and the writers of the GRASP curriculum are considering reviewing the program to make sure it matches changes in the state mandated curriculum.

The deadline for completing GRASP is at the end of the summer, before school begins. Students who complete all nine modules during the summer are invited to a school-sponsored pizza party the following spring. The mini-celebration reminds students of their achievement, and promotes interest in GRASP for the upcoming summer, he said.

St. Ignace Area Schools sends enrollment forms home around the end of April. Parents pay for the packets, which arrive one or two days before school gets out. A suggested timeline is included.

GRASP is simple enough to be done during vacations, Mr. Gustafson said, and some students turn in modules while visiting relatives in other cities.

The district also offers the St. Ignace Summer Program, coordinated by Monica Ellis, a certified teacher. It is funded by Child and Family Services of the Upper Peninsula.

The program is extensive and serves students five to 13 years old from Monday, June 19, through Friday, August 11, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. About 25 percent of the program's activities are academic, Mrs. Ellis said.

The program employs a staff of eight teacher aids and three tutors. On average, the tutors work two days a week.

The program helps students working on skill retention as well as students who may not otherwise make it to the next grade level.

Mrs. Ellis works collaboratively with teachers by interviewing them and making lists of students' specific needs. Then, she scours the Internet for worksheets and workbooks.

Traditional summer school programs employ certified teachers who work out of their school buildings, but "having summer school programs like this is getting to be a thing of the past," said Loretta Martinek, secretary of Mackinaw City Public Schools.

Her district begins summer school services during the last week of June and maintains them through the end of July.

Teachers Char Darrow and Jennifer Lee operate a low-structure, academic environment with a relaxed atmosphere for half a day, five days per week.

The Mackinaw City program is aimed at students seeking to maintain skills and others who simply want to come and work with their peers, Mrs. Martinek said.

The teachers focus on mathematics and reading skills to help second grade through junior highlevel students.

The program will continue as long as funding is provided, she said.

The Jump Start Program in the Les Cheneaux Community Schools is neither a retention or remedial education program, it is a "refresher course."

The first week of the program runs from Monday, August 14, through Thursday, August 17. The

second week runs from Monday, August 21, through Thursday, August 24. Classes are held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Bussing is available free.

Teachers turn in lists of students who may need a refresher course prior to the beginning of school, and teachers Julie Davis and Carrie Carr provide the service to children of parents who reply to a letter sent by the administration.

The program is dependent on grants from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The program was funded this way last year, Mrs. Rutledge said, and would likely shut down without it.