School Is Not Out for Summer

Different options offered to District 95 students for summer school classes and the continuation of the Extended School Year (ESY) services for students with disabilities were discussed at the Feb. 24, Community Unit School District 95 board meeting.

District 95 students don’t have to take the summer off of school if they don’t want to. New credit advancement classes, enrichment courses, and summer school co-operatives with Wauconda and Mundelein high schools are available.

For the second year in a row, Lake Zurich High School (LZHS) is offering a wider range of credit advancement classes instead of credit recovery classes.

Credit recovery classes are classes students take again if they previously failed a class, according to Jodi Wirt, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

“We’ve had more students request to have credit advancement classes during the summer instead of credit recovery classes,” said Wirt.

In order for each summer school class to run, a minimum of 15 students must sign up for the class.

“If there are only a few students that want to take an English or Math credit recovery class, they have the option to take it at Wauconda or Mundelein high schools,” explained Wirt.

This year the tentative classes for summer school for high school students are Art Foundation I, Astronomy, Behind the Wheel, Biology Honors, Consumer Education, Creative Writing, Digital Photography, Driver’s Education Classroom, Government, Health, Journalism I, and Physical Science Honors, and non-credit courses, Study Skills, Transition to Algebra Honors, and Transition to Geometry Honors.

The high school program will run from 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, June 13 -30 and July 5 – 21.

The costs are $180 for each semester course and $255 for out of district students. 

More than 29 enrichment courses are anticipated for the K-8 students in District 95. An average of 950 students attend the enrichment, skill reinforcement, English as a Second Language (ELL), and Mindstorms classes offered during the summer at Spencer Loomis Elementary and Middle School North.

“The skill reinforcement classes are there to support students who need extra help during the summer in reading or math,” said Wirt.

The Mindstorm class is a new science class that is partnered with Lego, teaching students how to build and program Mindstorms robots.

“Of the seven teachers that attended the Lego training, three teachers have offered to teach the class this summer,” Wirt said.

The enrichment classes run the gamut from volleyball, foreign language, performing arts, arts and crafts, and cooking.

“All the classes give the students a real world connection to what they’ve learned during the year,” said Wirt.

The K-8 program will run from 8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. for the first session and from 10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m. for the second session, Monday-Thursday, June 13 – July 8.

The costs are $150 for each enrichment course and $300 for the double session. Out-of-district tuition is $205 per each enrichment course.

The ESY services will be offered this summer to students with disabilities. It's an Illinois State Board of Education mandate available to students who are identified by their team, who guides their Individualized Education Program (IEP), that they require additional schooling.

The determining factor is based upon regression for each student, according to Nancy Rosenfeld, assistant superintendent of student services.

“When a student comes back from winter break, a long weekend, or the summer a teacher needs to review some material before continuing on and introducing new material,” explained Rosenfeld. “Some students don’t recoup as quickly as their peers.”

The continuation of classes and “maintaining what has already been learned” helps the student to recoup quicker.

ESY is offered to all students in District 95, offering support services such as speech and language, and occupational therapy as part of the program.

The program averages around 90 students a year and will be held at Spencer Loomis Elementary and Middle School North from June 15 – July 20, Monday –Thursday.