Twinsburg district outlines summer learning, credit recovery and extended-school-year plans

District administrators on March 5 described the district's plans for summer 2025 programming, including Camp Invention at Samuel Bissle Elementary, a summer learning camp focused on reading and math for targeted students, high-school credit recovery and Extended School Year (ESY) services for students with individualized education programs.

Jennifer Farthing, the district's director of curriculum and technology, said Camp Invention will be hosted at Samuel Bissle Elementary and run by Camp Invention personnel with district teacher involvement; 22 students were already signed up at the time of the report and the district expects to run two camps if demand requires. The district is recruiting high-school students as leaders-in-training (tenth—eleventh—twelfth graders) eligible to earn community-service hours and junior leaders-in-training for younger students.

Farthing said the summer learning camp will again focus on reading and math and will primarily invite students on a reading-improvement-and-monitoring plan (RIMP) or students receiving intervention at Wilcox, Bissle or Dodge. This year the district will use SC of Northeast Ohio funds to employ teachers for the camp; Farthing said that payroll will be routed through the SC of Northeast Ohio but that the program should otherwise operate the same as prior years.

High-school credit recovery will run for three weeks, June 4'025 through June 20, 2025 (no class June 19); sessions will run 8 a.m. to noon. Farthing said students typically can earn one to two credits depending on course length and motivation and that the fee for the course is $150. Transportation will not be provided; the program is primarily for upperclassmen seeking to regain credits ahead of graduation.

Ryan Bandiera, director of pupil services, described Extended School Year services for students on IEPs who are at risk of regression over long breaks. He said ESY will be scheduled as a three-day-per-week program for about three weeks before school starts in August, organized by age group with intervention specialists, instructional assistants and, when needed, related-services staff such as speech or occupational therapists. Bandiera said staff posting and confirmation of adequate staffing will precede invitations to families so the district does not enroll students without available staffing.

Farthing and Bandiera said specified dates remain slightly tentative because of work at the high school this summer related to prior facility damage, but they asked the board and community to watch district communications for final dates and registration details.