Hundreds head back to school

Students in the Clarke County School District got their first taste of summer last week, but for some of them it, was a short-lived break from classwork.

Several hundred students will return to the classroom this week for summer school, either to prepare to retake a state test or to pass a class.

The school system invested $230,000 more in summer school this year than last summer to help raise students' scores on the mandatory Criterion-Referenced Competency Test and Georgia High School Graduation Test.

Retest scores from both tests will be factored into state and federal accountability benchmarks later this summer, so allowing students another opportunity to better their test results also helps school districts improve how they fare on requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

"I think we know that not all children learn at the same rate, so some children need those extra weeks or a chance to see a certain part of the test again," said Denise Mewborn, a member of the Clarke County Board of Education. "It just gives them a chance to get caught up with their peers, whereas if they didn't have summer school, they'd be falling further and further behind."

All Georgia school districts receive an allotment from the state they can use for summer school or after-school programming. This year, Clarke County got $405,000 from the state but will add federal funds to bring the total spending to $730,000.

For the past few years, the school district has used different summer school models to encourage more students to graduate or earn promotion to the next grade. Last year, administrators lengthened the class day and added five additional days to the summer schedule.

After the program, the number of eighth-grade students who were able to pass the math CRCT rose from 56 percent to 72 percent.

In third-grade reading, the number of students who passed rose by 12 percent.

School administrators decided to keep the same elementary and middle school program, but added more opportunities for high school students this year to catch up or get a jump-start on all the classes they need to graduate, according to Classic City High School Principal Dan Hunter.

Students have more choices for courses they can take at Cedar Shoals High or work from home using a computer software program, Hunter said.

"Once we get them going, they're going to be able to double their efforts," Hunter said of the work-from-home option. "Some students won't need to be here the entire summer school, because they will be able to finish the courses before summer school ends, so that's a huge motivator for them."

Administrators split the high school program into one 16-day session and another 27-day term.

The 16-day program is free for students who came within 10 percent or less of a passing grade.

In the 27-day program, students can pick from twice as many classes, but are required to pay $150 for each class unless they qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program.

Elementary school students in grades 3 and 5 and middle school students from grades 6 through 8 who did not pass the CRCT in math or reading will attend a four-week, seven-hour program before they take the retest June 24 and 25.

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