South St. Paul reports steady summer program attendance, credits recovered

Assistant Principal Robin Schwab reported to the South St. Paul School Board on July 28 that the district’s summer offerings reached students across elementary, middle and high school levels and produced a notable number of recovered credits.

Schwab said the district ran a shortened, four-week program this year with many offerings timed to fit family schedules, and that program funding moved back to enrollment-based revenues after prior years’ ESSER support ended. “The majority of the programming was 4 weeks long this year,” Schwab said, and staff will seek family and staff feedback on timing and curriculum.

The presentation summarized participation and program types. Schwab reported 293 consistently enrolled elementary students (incoming grades 1–5) at Lincoln Center, an elementary STEM/engineering curriculum in its third year, Scholastic Lit Camp for reading and Math for Love for math. Middle school Summer Learning Academy had about 51 consistent attendees across grades 7–8, and Packer Preview for incoming sixth-graders had 123 participants. A targeted intervention group invited 30 students, 21 of whom attended the planned three-week intervention in math and reading.

On credit recovery, Schwab said the district changed its enrollment approach so students could be placed into two courses and, if finished, enrolled into new courses the following Monday. Early figures showed 268 core-course credits completed this summer; Schwab said that number excludes work experience and late grades that had not been posted by the presenter’s cut-off. She noted the 47% attendance figure reported for one cohort reflected how students were dropped from sessions after completion rather than ongoing absence.

Schwab framed the summer work as a districtwide effort that touched multiple departments, including community education, early learning, elementary, middle and high schools, student services and nutrition. She said the program was designed to be “self sustaining” under current enrollment funding. Board members praised staff and community partners who hosted activities at the library, John Carroll Building and local parks.

Superintendent Dr. Zambrino echoed the praise for summer engagement and said the district will continue to collect and publish measures tied to the new strategic plan. “Engage, educate, and empower,” he said, summarizing the plan’s vision and the intent to measure progress with scorecards and public reporting.

Board members asked no formal follow-up motions on programming at the July 28 meeting; Schwab and other staff said they would return with evaluation feedback after family and staff surveys and final grade postings.