6:00: Morning News

Most counties are offering more summer programs after the pandemic school year

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — About midway through the registration period, hundreds of students in Wood County had already signed up for enhanced summer school programs the county school system was offering with help from grant funding made available in the coronavirus pandemic.

Will Hosaflook

“There’s a lot of excitement that’s happening with our summer learning opportunities right now,” said Will Hosaflook, superintendent of schools in Wood County.

Wood County was drawing on Summer SOLE grant funding provided through the state Department of Education from the second federal CARES Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

SOLE stood for Student Opportunities for Learning and Engagement and was designed to supplement summer learning in the ongoing pandemic.

Every county in West Virginia, except for Boone County which did not submit a grant application, was awarded grant funding for summer and other programs in some amount through SOLE, according to the state DOE.

In Wood County for the summer, kindergarten jump-starts were available along with credit recovery for high school students and courses to spark interest in a variety of topics at those grade levels.

Elementary and middle school students had access to math and literature camps, wildlife adventures, plus science and technology lessons of all kinds, reflecting additions to traditional summer programs in Wood County.

In many cases, bus transportation was available along with two meals, breakfast and lunch.

Hosaflook asked, “When you go to our website and you look to see what students are being offered, why wouldn’t you send your son or daughter to Wood County schools during the summer?”

The summer school and camp registration deadline in Wood County was April 16.

Camps, courses and other programs were scheduled to begin there on June 15.

In Raleigh County, students had until April 26 to enroll for expanded summer programs at all grade levels.

The programs were part of a larger mission, according to Sandra Sheatsley, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Raleigh County Schools.

“What do we need to do to ensure that every child that graduates from Raleigh County Schools can successfully go into a career, a military position, a college of their choice? That is our goal,” Sheatsley said.

In general, SOLE recipients were required to provide educational opportunities at all grade levels to help students make up for learning gaps while preparing them for the future.

The funds can be used through Sept. 30, 2023.

The largest SOLE grants were for Kanawha County at $3.1 million and Berkeley County at $2.4 million.

Wood County’s allocation was $1.5 million while Raleigh County received $1.3 million.

Superintendent Hosaflook in Wood County said he was grateful.

“It has given all of our schools the opportunity to really focus on what students need and what students need right now is to reconnect to the love of learning,” he said.

“We have all worked together, along with our schools and our school administrators, to develop, in my belief, the best summer school program in the state of West Virginia.”

In Raleigh County, summer options were tailored for different age groups with a focus on decreasing the COVID and summer learning slide while providing social and emotional support to students.

“It is a different approach,” Sheatsley said of the expanded offerings in Raleigh County.

For example, “At the elementary levels, middle school levels, we are looking at, specifically, where every student is in mathematics and reading and taking them from where they are to that next level,” Sheatsley said.

Summer camps were available at all grade levels in Raleigh County with two meals served daily and transportation for elementary students.

Energy Express in Raleigh County was also being expanded from two locations to five.

For high school students, the Raleigh County school system was working with WVU Tech to host week-long STEM camps for middle school students starting on June 14 and for high school students beginning on June 21.

Academic enrichment camps were also an option for middle school students with credit recovery for high school students.

Sheatsley said they hoped to have between 30 and 50 students in each program.

At least one program in Wood County was already nearly full.

“We are not going to so-called ‘catch kids up’ in one year. That’s not going to happen. This is for the longevity. This is for the long-term period,” said Superintendent Hosaflook of Wood County’s summer plans.

“I truly believe that, offering programs like this, it places public education at the top of the education world.”





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