Summer Learning Programs Help Students Impacted By Virtual School Year

Saline Schools are offering two programs this summer to help students who may have struggled with virtual classes and remote learning this past academic year.

Super Summer Scholars is geared to children in Kindergarten through third grade and is hosted at Pleasant Ridge Elementary. This half day program runs from 8:45 am-12:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays for eight weeks.

“Students will spend half of each morning engaging in camp-like activities and half learning in small groups with a focus on literacy and math,” said Brian Puffer, Director of Community Education.

For older students, the Middle School Academic Enrichment Program is a four-week program that runs from July 19-August 13, Monday through Thursday from 8am-12pm at the Saline Middle School.

“The COVID-19 global pandemic has resulted in remote instruction, hybrid instruction, and additional learning transitions,” Puffer said. “The Saline Middle School Academic Enrichment camp is intended for families who want their child to have additional instruction in English Language Arts and Mathematics due to the educational challenges experienced during the 2020-2021 school year.”

Puffer noted that this program is specifically for students who earned grades that were uncharacteristically low for the student. Instruction and activities for social-emotional learning will also be integrated into the daily camp experience.

Anna Britnell, Director of Communications and Community Relations, feels that these programs will be a benefit to students who may have fallen behind academically and socially.

“This school year was challenging for students on various levels, and we feel it is our responsibility to provide additional opportunities for them to engage in a school setting,” Britnell said. “When designing summer programming, our focus was to offer areas of focus for everyone, including social-emotional wellness, academic practice, and peer socialization.”

Dr. Stephen D. Laatsch, Superintendent, agrees.

“Some students, largely due to not being in schools as much during this pandemic school year, do need more support to develop their academic skills over the summer,” Laatsch said. “This will allow for a smoother transition into the 2021/2022 school year.”

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