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For some students, it�s classes all year �round By RENATTA SIGNORINI, [email protected] EXTRA LEARNING: Schools in the area are offering summer classes for students who need credits or those looking for enrichment. �I don�t wanna go to school!� �Just five more minutes!� Most parents hear these cries in the morning before school starts and begin counting down the days to summer vacation. However, that doesn�t always mean the end of classes as summer school is offered throughout the county. Whether a student has to pass a class, needs credits to graduate, or just wants to get some enrichment, summer school can be the answer. The Lawrence County Area Vocational Technical School offers remedial summer courses to students in grades 7 through 12. Certified instructors from area school districts teach basic courses in English, social studies, math, and science. For four weeks, morning and afternoon sessions are available, allowing students to take one or two classes. Tom Wildauer, director at the Vo-Tech, said the summer courses begin in late June and are open to all students in the area, as well as some from outside the county. Nearly 200 students are in each session, he said, at a cost of $85 per class. �It allows them to make up work and get any classes they need to move on or graduate,� he said. Michelle McClelland, Laurel High School guidance counselor, said the number of students that district sends varies each year because students exercise different options. �They can repeat the course the following year, go to the summer school or hire a tutor for the summer,� she noted. At Shenango High, summer courses are offered through Butler County Community College and can be taken for college credit. Guidance counselor Bruce Smith said students who take summer classes at the high school do so for enrichment. Health and physical education and a social studies course will be offered for six weeks. There is great benefit from the summer courses, Smith said, because otherwise the students would be unable to fit classes into their schedules without dropping an important elective. �They�d be short-changed,� he said. The program, which started two years ago, requires a minimum enrollment of 10. �Our kids get first preference,� he noted. �If we don�t have enough to fill up 10, we open the course up to other districts.� Younger students can benefit from summer learning as well. Union elementary students are keeping their minds busy by attending two summer school sessions. �It�s a wonderful program,� Principal Linda O�Neill said. �For the kindergartners, it�s a great way to get them acclimated and into a routine and get up for school, get in a line, socialize with kids in their class, and meet teachers. It�s a big help.� The school has a summer program for early childhood, which includes 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds who are not ready for kindergarten, and a separate one for kindergartners through fourth-graders. A parent is required to be with the child in the early childhood program. All Union Elementary students are welcome, O�Neill noted, but at the end of the year, she looks at grades and encourages students who aren�t doing well to participate in the summer program. �There are some students who need to be encouraged,� she said, �others come because they like to.� The older group uses the summer classes to review things they didn�t understand during the school year, among other things, O�Neill said. Parents can request that teachers spend extra time with a child in a subject he or she is struggling to understand. Add a comment  |
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