Amy Oakley, the district’s Director of Instruction, told the Fort Atkinson Board of Education on Sept. 18 that 1,243 individual students attended the district’s 2025 summer school program and that the program produced a mix of academic and enrichment offerings while remaining financially self-sustaining.

Oakley opened her presentation by saying, “Here we are again, in the fall celebrating a successful summer school session.” She told the board the program is designed for elementary through high-school students and includes traditional morning classes, camps, academic interventions and credit-bearing high school coursework.

Oakley said the 1,243 figure counts individual students (some students took more than one class). The board was given a breakdown of attendees: 611 elementary students, 265 middle-school students and 367 high-school students. Oakley said the program offered 134 unique class options this year: 43 enrichment classes, 30 academic/intervention classes, 39 camps and 17 credit-recovery classes. The program employed 93 staff members, just over half of whom are district employees; 63% of staff returned from 2024 and 27% were newly hired for the session.

The district emphasized the expansion of offerings for older students. Oakley said there were three for‑credit high-school course offerings this year, “and I believe they were all less than 20 kids,” which staff estimated as roughly 50 students across those classes. Oakley described the for‑credit classes as a combination of on-site and at-home work that requires documentation of hours (staff said the typical first-time credit requires about 55 hours) to ensure equivalence with school-year courses.

Oakley said the district surveys families and staff each year; this year’s family satisfaction average was 4.4 out of 5. She cited parents’ praise for class variety, clear organization, free busing and on-site credit options. Oakley listed popular camps and classes including sewing, Minecraft, Lego-based STEM, woodworking, 3D printing, dance, rocketry and fishing. “It was just a really awesome summer,” she said.

On meal service, Oakley explained that the district qualified to provide federal free breakfasts and lunches only from a qualifying building; Luther was the building that met the federal criteria this summer. Oakley said food service staff set up drive-through pickups and added buses to transport students from the high school to Luther so they could access free meals. She said the district provided a mid-morning nonperishable snack in classrooms (granola bars, Goldfish crackers and similar items) purchased by the district so students who had not eaten before arriving had something to eat.

Oakley said the district does not charge families for summer school (state reimbursement covers resident students and only consumable fees are allowable), and that the program is run to earn more than it spends. “So summer school is self sufficient and typically makes money for the district as well,” she said. Oakley also said most nonresident participation is small and varies by year; the exact count of nonresident students was not specified.

Oakley credited many staff and partners: summer principals Justin Stewart, Dave Geiger and Adam Russo; Amanda Maling and the buildings and grounds team; DJ and the technology team; Keith in nutrition services; Mandy and Brett in HR; Lisa Hollenberger in special education and people services; and teachers Todd Carter and Liz Culver for specific credit courses.

Board members asked about expanding high-school credit offerings and about meal logistics. Oakley said planning for next summer has already begun and the district will solicit staff preferences in January to secure instructors early.

Discussion (not a formal action): the board heard the report, asked questions about enrollment composition and meal access, and praised the program’s community-building role and financial stewardship.

For follow-up the board will receive enrollment and program registration details during the district’s regular reporting cycle and staff said they will confirm counts for nonresident participants and the exact meal-service totals if requested.