Newport-Mesa officials report summer programs served 4,100 students and showed reading gains

District staff presented data and reflections on summer programming, telling the board the Newport-Mesa Unified School District served more than 4,100 students across preschool through grade 12 during the 2025 summer session.

Assistant Superintendent Shields and program leads said the district ran a mix of offerings: full-day, year-round preschool (48 students at Whittier, SEG 1120), a 19-day elementary 'Summer Scholars Academy' that served over 2,200 elementary students across five campuses (SEG 1175—178), and multiple secondary opportunities including dual-enrollment classes at Orange Coast College and enrichment/acceleration courses that served just over 1,400 secondary students and yielded roughly 3,600 transcript credits (SEG 1300—303). Staff said the summer food program provided more than 46,000 meals and transportation ran 40 bus routes to support access (SEG 1096—100).

On reading outcomes, presenters described two short assessment measures: a brief pre/post reading measure for small-group instruction (used with about 200 students in targeted grades) and an aggregate comparison of end-of-year STAR scores to beginning-of-year STAR scores. Staff reported that 95% of the students who participated in small-group reading instruction "demonstrated growth" on that short assessment, 15% increased a whole benchmark level, and 65% remained at the same benchmark level — data staff characterized as positive given the short intervention window (SEG 1196—1213).

Presenters acknowledged challenges including attendance impacts tied to community concerns (immigration enforcement headlines), staffing and capacity trade-offs, and the logistical hurdles of partnering with a community college for dual-enrollment courses (SEG 1318—346). Board members asked how the district will prioritize and sustain offerings in future years; staff answered that many summer costs were one-time capital or planning investments and said they would follow up with site-level numbers for course capacity and demand (SEG 1550—1552).

Student voice and next steps

Student board member Jeremy Lore praised dual-enrollment opportunities and asked how to ensure equitable access when courses are oversubscribed; staff said they prioritize students in greatest need and will follow up with detailed enrollment counts by site. District leaders also noted that program design questions (purpose, sustainability and alignment with district priorities) will feed into upcoming strategic planning work.

Staff highlighted extended services for students with IEPs: Extended School Year (ESY) served 349 students with IEPs, staffed by 45 certificated and 78 classified employees across multiple sites (SEG 1379—382). Presenters said parent surveys for ESY were overwhelmingly positive and that transportation and specialized supports were essential to participation.