Grafton reviews extended school year and summer enrichment; officials report high satisfaction and note timing, space and staffing challenges

Grafton — School officials on Sept. 9 told the Grafton School Committee that this summer’s extended school year (ESY) and summer enrichment programs ran smoothly, served hundreds of students and earned strong parent satisfaction scores, though staff and families raised issues about timing, space and some building systems.

Administrators said ESY ran July 9–Aug. 7 and was “one of the smoothest programs we’ve had,” with staff reporting high student engagement. School-based teams focused placements on students’ Individualized Education Program goals, and the district implemented daily reading instruction for students who needed it to preserve learning gains.

District presenters said 195 students qualified for ESY in 2025; 115 attended ESY programming and 30 attended the district’s targeted reading program, for a total of 145 students served during the summer program. The preschool ESY classes were intentionally small (maximum reported class sizes of seven to eight students) to allow more small-group instruction, presenters said. Staff for ESY totaled 89 this summer.

The summer enrichment program, run by co-directors Bridal Mercier and Rachel Murray, enrolled about 450 students across kindergarten through 11th grade. Administrators reported 64 distinct class offerings, about 125 camp sessions and roughly 1,452 seat-sales across the five-week period; the average participating student took about 3.15 classes. A parent satisfaction survey averaged 4.73 out of 5, the district said.

Committee members and parents praised program staff and volunteers. “Especially with the reading services and the tutorial pieces, I feel like the changes that were made … were successful,” one presenter said. The enrichment program’s staffing included roughly 28 teachers and 19 paraprofessionals; maintenance and operations staff supported the sites while the district treated the program “like an operational school” for five weeks.

Committee members raised several operational concerns for next year. Families reported a mismatch between ESY dismissal times and enrichment start times that left some parents waiting in cars for 30–45 minutes; presenters said small-group transition plans existed for students who moved between ESY and enrichment and that staff will continue coordinating schedules. The district also noted an air-conditioning problem over the summer and said the maintenance department would address site needs before next year.

Administrators said they are already planning for ESY 2026 with attention to location, scheduling, and continued coordination with summer enrichment. They described exploratory conversations with the superintendent in nearby Millbury about a possible partnership to share space and staff next year; Superintendent Greg Myers of Millbury was named as a contact in those discussions.

Committee members suggested adding optional paid aftercare or flexible pick-up options to help working parents, expanding class capacity where demand exceeded seats (for example, an SAT-prep offering drew interest), and refining registration and payment systems for the enrichment catalog.

The district said it will continue to collect and review student outcome data — including regression and progress on IEP goals — to guide ESY placement and program design going forward.