District 59 presents summer LEAP, enrichment and ESY data showing steady attendance and new tutoring partnerships

Summer-school leaders for District 59 reviewed this year's Summer LEAP, enrichment and Extended School Year (ESY) offerings and reported attendance, staffing and curriculum details to the Board of Education. Nicole Robinson, executive director of curriculum and instruction, and Elizabeth DeGree, executive director of educational services, presented the program dates, enrollment and how services were delivered.

The district's Summer LEAP ran June 9 to July 3 for 15 half days, Monday through Thursday with Fridays off, Robinson said. She described Summer LEAP as for students "pre identified through the MTSS process" and noted the program served kindergarten through seventh graders needing continued literacy or math interventions and newcomer students needing English development. "We did, invite 6 50 priority students. We had 4 55 of them registered and then the number who actually attended was 400," Robinson said.

Why it matters: presenters said Summer LEAP is the district's targeted intervention pathway to reduce summer regression for students receiving tiers 2 and 3 supports while enrichment courses broaden access and engagement for other students. The district also delivered ESY services tied to students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), which presenters said are assigned based on data and team recommendations and are not offered on a simple first-come basis.

Program details and delivery

Robinson and Phil Depa, summer school principal at Holmes Junior High, summarized curriculum and staffing. The district used Illustrative Math for math instruction, district-created units for science and social studies and Scholastic ScholarZone and Varsity Tutors for junior-high ELA and math. Depa explained the district used Varsity Tutors at Holmes to expand capacity: groups of fourth- through seventh-graders were served simultaneously online, with a local facilitator and tech assistant on site. "Each student had 4 days of tutoring a week in either reading or math," Depa said.

Enrichment course enrollment totaled 301 sign-ups, driven by the instrumental music camp and junior-high offerings, the presenters said. Robinson noted enrichment courses were mostly three weeks long, with junior-high enrichment running four weeks for 46 students. The district also offered double-accelerated math and a Spanish Dual Language Academy as pathway or content-specific offerings.

ESY and staffing

DeGree described ESY as data-driven placements determined by IEP teams to provide Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) over the summer when students are at risk of regression. She said ESY services were provided at Rupley for in-district students and that out-of-district students attended their respective placement sites. Presenters gave two different ESY counts in the meeting: one slide listed 95 ESY students, and later DeGree said "We had 125 students enrolled in ESY. 91 of those students attended at least 8 of the 15 days." The discrepancy was not resolved in the presentation.

DeGree said ESY class size averaged six students and that the program required high staffing levels because related services (speech, occupational therapy, social work and counseling) and functional life-skills instruction were provided in addition to academics. "We had 21 teachers... for 91 students," DeGree said when describing staffing to ensure coverage if late registrants arrived.

Family and staff feedback

Presenters read survey comments and described high parent satisfaction. Depa read examples of parent survey responses: "Awesome summer program. Very well managed" and "Students have learned and benefited from this program." School staff feedback praised the centralized campus model for simplifying logistics and increasing teacher and student engagement. Robinson said weekly teacher newsletters were instituted to improve family communication and that teachers reported stronger family connections as a result.

Open questions and limits of local authority

Board members asked whether programs reached capacity; presenters said some grade levels capped and that attendance patterns are unpredictable. Robinson said ESY fills all students entitled by IEP and is not capped. Board members also asked whether Varsity Tutors access was available to families outside the district-provided placements; Robinson said families already using Varsity Tutors could continue to access it over the summer and that principals can work with families if they want to use Varsity Tutors for additional academic work or enrichment.

Ending

Presenters closed by highlighting higher junior-high enrichment participation, strong staff engagement and positive parent survey results. They asked for board questions and said the district will continue to collect and share lessons learned for the next summer.