Region Information
Board Approves Summer Programs for Students, Aspiring Teachers
At its April 9, 2009, meeting, the Board of Education approved the plans for summer school, where students can make up required course work for promotion to the next grade level, get ahead by taking required courses in advance of the upcoming school year, or (depending on eligibility) receive specialized instruction. Also approved were a training program for aspiring teachers who will teach some summer courses, a summer enrichment program for second- and third-graders, and a summer program that will help students at risk of dropping out of school.
The June 4–July 1, $34-million summer-school program will help elementary-, middle-, and high-school students who did not meet promotion standards improve their reading, writing, and math skills. Accelerated reading and math instruction will also be available, and high schools may offer credit-recovery courses to students who have been denied credit for a course because they failed to pass it or had too many absences.
The wide range of course offerings this summer includes enrichment programs, pre-International Baccalaureate math and science courses, foreign-language and Advanced Placement classes, trade camps, sports and fitness camps, preschool and English-as-a-second language programs for limited-English-proficient or immigrant students, programs for migrant and Special Education students, Algebra I, a class in government and economics, evening classes in core subjects, a course that prepares students to take the SAT college-readiness test, and camps focusing on English, math, and science.
The cost for tuition-based high-school courses will be $150 for in-district students and $200 for non-district students. Courses that prepare students to be successful on the TAKS will be offered to eligible students at no cost at participating high schools. Trustee Paula Harris said that it was “awesome” that HISD’s 2009 summer-school program contained so much enrichment, “and we have to communicate to the public about these great opportunities and our evolving summer program.”
In addition, the board voted to partner with the City of Houston and the Houston-Galveston Area Council to offer the third Summer Opportunity Session. The program is a June 4–July 1 summer enrichment program for approximately 600 HISD second- and third-graders who are not required to attend summer school. Focused on math and science enrichment with 12–15 students per class, the program will also incorporate literature and literacy in the lessons and feature take-home and parental-involvement activities and one field-based opportunity. Berry, Bonham, Bruce, Lockhart, Reynolds, Rodríguez, and Sánchez Elementary Schools were the sites for last year’s Summer Opportunity Session because of their locations and because they had space available, and they will be used again this summer. Transportation will not be provided.
The board also accepted a two-year grant from the Texas Education Agency for the Intensive Summer Program for Middle- and High-School Students Pilot Program. The program will help HISD to plan, design, and implement research-based pilot programs for at-risk students that provide intensive summer academic instruction and promote college- and workforce-readiness. Called the CSTEM Exploration Camp, the project is a collaboration between HISD, Texas Southern University, Project GRAD Houston, and CSTEM Teacher and Student Support Services, Inc. Chosen because they have a relationship with Project GRAD, the schools taking part in the initiative are Davis, Reagan, Wheatley, and Yates High Schools and the Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center. Throughout the month of June, 150 rising sophomores (students who have completed their ninth-grade year) will spend four hours a day focusing on math, science, and English language arts objectives. In addition, parents will attend 20 hours of sessions over the 2009–2010 grant period.
Also accepted were state and federal funds for the Teach For America summer institute that trains college graduates who commit to two years of teaching in urban or rural public schools. Approximately 700 core members and 250 faculty members, including roughly 150 HISD teachers, will take part in the program, which runs June 15 through July 10 and includes tuition-free instruction for 3,000 HISD students at Dogan, Gallegos, Lantrip, and Wainwright Elementary Schools; Black, Deady, Holland, Jackson, and Sharpstown Middle Schools; and Chávez and Davis High Schools.
