By Elio Gugliotti, Editor
PROSPECT — Region 16 officials are making changes to summer school for elementary and middle school students this year in an effort to increase engagement and participation in the program.
Summer school is voluntary for all students in the region, which is comprised of Beacon Falls and Prospect. Superintendent of Schools Michael Yamin said the region had to cancel summer school for elementary students in the past because not enough students signed up. He said the idea of additional instruction over the summer may not appeal to students and it can be difficult for working parents to get children to and from the three-hour program.
To hopefully address those issues, the district plans to offer a full-day summer school program for elementary and middle school students in Prospect. The program is set to run this year Monday through Thursday starting July 12 and ending July 29.
The program will include the customary three hours of targeted instruction in reading and math in the morning starting at 9 a.m. New this year is students, including children from Beacon Falls, will have the option to attend summer camps run by Prospect Parks and Recreation in the afternoon at no cost.
He said the addition of the camps is to give students an incentive to attend summer school and an activity to look forward to in the afternoon.
“We feel like this year with so many kids we want to keep in school, we think it’s great,” Yamin told the Board of Education at its May 12 meeting.
Yamin said the district will provide transportation to summer school and the camps. Parents will have to pick up children from the camps, but children who don’t attend the camps will be bused home after summer school, he said.
