For the more than 200 Denair elementary, high school, and special education students involved in summer school in the past month, vacation season finally can begin. That’s true as well for the dozens of teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, food service workers, and other staff members who devoted four weeks to those same students.
Everyone deserves a well-earned break. That’s because it won’t be long until regular classes resume in mid-August.
For roughly 130 elementary students, summer school was a chance to continue building their ability in core academic subjects like math and English in a fun, grade-free environment. Classroom lessons were augmented by sessions in art or music … or something like Water Day that was held on June 14 as a way to beat the heat.
“I thought that was a highlight of our program this summer,” said elementary Principal Robert Moore.
Students were able to access obstacle courses, slip ‘n’ slides, sprinklers, shark bowling with a beach ball, and an obstacle course. There also was a bean bag toss game, a shaving cream activity table, and a bubble station.
“This was a great event and staff, students, and families all pitched in to make it a success,” Moore said.
For the first time during summer school, 12 girls in fifth and sixth grades also were able to take part in the ROX (Ruling Our eXperiences) program led by counselor Kara Binkley. ROX is intended to empower girls by teaching them how to handle conflict, create and manage better relationships, and think positively and differently about their futures. Binkley covered 20 key lessons in just 21 days.
Next door at Denair Charter Academy, the day-to-day mood was a little more serious for the 80 or so high school students who were involved in credit recovery. They needed to retake and pass classes they didn’t do well in during the regular school year. Earning those all-important credits was the way to get back on track toward graduation.
“If it gets to a point where they have too many courses to recover, that leads to a hard conversation between the (high school) counselor and the student and their families,” explained Principal Anajanzy Montoya.
An important component of this year’s summer program in Denair was the inclusion of special education students – 25 of whom took part in the district’s Extended School Year program. The students worked with the same teachers they had during the regular school year and also took part in community-based instruction opportunities and educational field trips throughout the summer program.
Moore singled out the special education teachers and paraprofessionals for their hard work. The special education students began their days on the high school campus and then transitioned to the elementary campus in the afternoon.
“These staff members did such a great job making sure that all of our students had access to the fun activities we had available for them in the afternoon and were always flexible to help in any way that we needed,” he said. “The special education staff along with the rest of our summer school staff really went above and beyond this summer to provide a fun and safe place for students to extend their learning and continue their growth.”
Students at all grades during summer school once again benefitted from the dedicated food service team, which provided a daily average of 128 breakfasts, 178 lunches, and 65 snacks during summer school – all for free.
Beginning July 8 and lasting through July 19, free breakfast, lunch, and supper will be offered to community members. Breakfast is served at Denair Middle School from 7:30 to 9 a.m., lunch is at DMS from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and supper is served at Denair High School from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
