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R-6 summer school underway
SIKESTON — Over 400 students in prekindergarten through 12th grades returned to the classroom on Monday as the three-week summer school session kicked off in the Sikeston R-6 School District.
Summer school is offered from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday for prekindergarten through 12th grades at one of the district’s four sites; Sikeston Kindergarten Center, Wing Elementary, Junior High and Sikeston Career and Technology Center.
Sikeston R-6 summer school director Ryan Lindsey said the session is off to a good start.
“Parents can expect students to have a well-rounded day focused on remediation and enrichment through hands-on, engaging activities,” Lindsey said. “It was a fun, rewarding experience for students and staff last year, and we expect more of the same during this session.”
Students preregistered for summer school in early May through June 15.
“I believe the community has seen the value of having the summer program, so we definitely want to continue to grow and offer opportunities to make it bigger and better each year,” Lindsey said.
Last year’s summer school focused primarily on remediation and students showed measurable growth in reading and math across the board in grades K-9, Lindsey said. The district also offered credit recovery for students in 10th through 12th grades, which enabled many students negatively affected by COVID during the previous year to gain valuable credits toward graduation, he said.
“While remediation and credit recovery are still the primary focus of summer school, we’ve also added more enrichment opportunities this year,” Lindsey said.
For example, students in grades K-9 will have music, art, exploratory outdoor activities and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) integrated into their day, he said.
Students at the Junior High will enjoy a week with representatives from Three Rivers College that will teach about drones, forensic science, home science and robotics.
“Our Sikeston Career and Technology Center has also designed half-day enrichment opportunities for students in eighth and ninth grades with an interest in industrial technology, culinary arts, and criminal justice,” Lindsey said.
Sikeston’s summer school session ends July 28.
Other local school districts, such as Scott County Central, Kelly, Charleston, Oran and others, have already conducted their summer school sessions, with many hosting their respective session in May and June.
Scott County Central Elementary Principal Stacey Pullen said Scott Central’s three-week summer school, which ended June 9, was successful.
“Our attendance stayed consistent and almost doubled from last year,” Pullen said. “We had around 45 students enrolled.”
Summer school at Scott Central was offered to all students this year with the goal of keeping children engaged and thinking about school while also helping reduce the “summer slide,” she said.
“Summer school is important because it keeps our students engaged in learning for an extended period of time and keeps them thinking about school,” Pullen said.
SCC’s summer school was departmentalized again this year, the principal said. Scott Central offered reading, math, science, social studies, writing and a computer class to its students. Students were able to work on activities that teachers may not have time for during the regular school year, she said.
“With the small groups, teachers can really focus on helping the students refine skills such as speaking and listening, math reasoning and critical thinking and creating presentations for a specific audience,” Pullen said. “The students had a lot of fun and didn’t realize they were developing valuable skills.”