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District outlines June summer school plan focused on retention, tier-1 instruction and longer student days
Summary
District staff presented a proposed June summer school schedule (June 3–26, Monday–Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m.), said the initial priority will be students facing promotion/retention in grades 3, 8 and 9, and reported early counts of students currently in danger of retention.
Waukegan CUSD 60 administrators presented an initial plan for summer school during the Jan. 28 board meeting, proposing a concentrated June program intended to address promotion/retention and provide targeted instruction.
Eric Christensen, director of academic support programs, said the proposed summer school would run June 3–26 (Monday–Thursday) with an extended student day from about 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The district plans 14 student contact days and a longer daily schedule (about 5.5 hours) that includes instruction, lunch and elective/PE periods.
Priority students: Christensen said the district will prioritize students affected by the promotion/retention policy in grades 3, 8 and 9. As of the presentation the district identified roughly 92 third graders, 200 eighth graders and 71 ninth graders who might require summer services for promotion/retention purposes; administrators said those counts are fluid and will change with subsequent report cards and interventions.
Assessment, grading and parent conferences: Staff said summertime instruction will include curriculum-embedded assessments and that students will receive grades for summer courses. Portfolios of student work will be kept, and parent conferences will be scheduled in July to review data and confirm final promotion/retention decisions.
High school and credit recovery: Christensen said high school students will be offered a combination of computer-based credit recovery (Edmentum) and in-person instruction for courses that require teacher support (for example, algebra recovery and driver’s education); some honors or advancement courses (for example, geometry honors) were presented as potential offerings.
Implementation steps: The district will continue family communication and will post summer-school positions in February–March with staff hiring after spring break. Staff committed to provide more detailed schedules and enrollment information in subsequent months.
Why it matters: The plan ties directly to the district’s promotion/retention policy and aims to provide concentrated instruction and data-based decision-making for students at risk of not advancing. The district also emphasized using multiple data points and teacher-observed practices to measure implementation and student impact.
Ending: Administrators said more detail will be provided in February and March presentations; the board thanked staff and several members asked that outcomes and alignment to the literacy plan be shown in future updates.
