Modesto City Schools summer credit recovery led to nearly 100 additional graduates
Nearly 100 additional students graduated from Modesto City Schools through summer credit recovery, the district reported.
The district’s summer school, intersession programs and enrichment camps delivered boosts in enrollment and consistent progress, according to data shared at a school board meeting Aug. 16.
Director of Student Support Services Tony Lomeli said elementary school students in summer remediation showed gains similar to previous years, but more students benefited because enrollment more than doubled compared to 2019.
The district offered summer school through distance learning in 2020. Modesto City Schools used pandemic relief funding to expand this year’s in-person summer credit recovery and enrichment programs to all school sites.
Elementary school students could attend academic programs run by all 22 school sites, Lomeli said, compared to two or three locations in previous years.
Of the 2,539 students who attended this year, 85% demonstrated growth in English language arts and 89% demonstrated growth in math, according to pre- and post-assessment data, he said.
In recent years, enrollment in junior high remediation programs has ranged from about 40 to 100 students, but this summer jumped to 385. Of those students, 154 completed two or more courses.
At high schools, 1,595 students completed one course, and 614 of those students finished two or more. In 2019, 201 students completed two or more courses.
Teachers offered a more informal way to boost grades through intersession programs, too. Over two weeks or so in June, 442 students corrected F’s to passing grades, and 356 raised a letter grade for a course they took in the spring, Lomeli said.
School officials still were compiling data as of Wednesday to report how many students eligible for summer school were not able to make up coursework they needed to graduate, Public Information Officer Becky Fortuna said in an email.
Summer enrichment enrollment booms
Camp programs for grades TK-12 sought to reconnect students with peers and teachers after months of learning in isolation. “It’s really powerful engagement and support for these kids,” Lomeli said.
More than four times as many elementary school students participated in enrichment programs compared to 2019, according to numbers presented at the meeting.
Teachers coordinated 44 so-called boot camps at elementary schools for 619 students. Eight after-school camps enrolled 549 students.
TK-6 enrichment covered a wealth of opportunities, including STEAM, coding, running, art and book club.
Among the 7-12 enrichment activities were drama, basketball, band, art and writing. Teachers got to share personal passions in programs like the history of rock ‘n’ roll and “The Hero’s Journey in Fantasy & Science-Fiction.”
Students in grades 7-8 could choose from 20 enrichment programs. Enrollment totaled 305.
In 68 summer boot camps for high schoolers, 1,009 students attended. These high school programs were new this year.
“It’s a great baseline as we look to expand this next year,” Lomeli said.
Trustee Chad Brown said school officials’ work to pull off these programs was “over and above anything that’s expected.”
Board President Charlene West said she was also impressed that so many teachers opted to teach this summer after such a challenging year. “It was a joy-filled experience for a lot of people,” she said.
Rana Banankhah, the board’s student representative, said she was “astounded” by the data. She said it’s reassuring to see the district work so hard to help students whose academics suffered during distance learning.
“Learning loss affected everyone,” she said. “I know it affected me.”
Option to change grades, repeat grade level
Summer school wasn’t the only option for students to make up grades. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill July 1 allowing families to request a meeting to consider whether their child could repeat a grade level, ask for changes from letter grades to “pass” or “no pass” and seek exemption from graduation requirements that go beyond statewide standards.
As of Aug. 16, 84 Modesto City Schools parents requested a meeting to discuss their child retaking a grade level, more than 300 parents of high school students asked for “pass” or “no pass” grades and 81 seniors were being evaluated for exemption from some graduation requirements, according to numbers presented to the board by Danielle Hinkle, senior director of student support services.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
