Salmon River admins: summer school program successful, participating students making progress

FORT COVINGTON – Salmon River Central School administrators told the Board of Education members this year’s summer school program was successful and students who participated made good progress.

During the September board meeting, school trustees heard from two administrators each at the elementary, middle and high school.

“We’ve got the best administrators in all of the North Country,” Superintendent Stanley Harper said. “I can’t even tell you, as an educator, how proud I am of all of you and all of our kids and our staff.”

Elementary administrators Danielle French and Alison Benedict said the summer school program at the St. Regis Mohawk School had 229 students out of 262 who signed up completing the 20-day program.

The school’s new Dive Into Pre-K program took place at the St. Regis Mohawk School and Salmon River. The students worked with the same teachers they have in the fall for two weeks, three days a week, two hours per day.

“It worked out really well,” Benedict told the board. “This was completely new and we’re thankful that we were able to do this.” She added that the program is crucial in helping students gain a handle on routines and rituals as they begin their education. The district projected 20 students at the Mohawk School and 12 at Salmon River elementary, and 16 and 10 attended at each school, respectively.

The extended school year (ESY) program had 26 students finish, compared to six last summer. The best attendance was from kindergarteners and second graders.

“We’re pleased that everybody gained,” French said. “With the students that we were able to measure the data, we do have a higher post score.”

French said goals for this year include a continued focus on the individual well-being of students, academic achievement and relationships with district parents.

The middle school “boot camp” summer program went well, said administrators Melissa Sevey and Steven Booth.

Harper said that the boot camp was an attempt to address attendance at the middle school, which had the highest rates of attendance issues. Students in the boot camp took two weeks of full days focused on one subject.

“We kept losing kids,” the superintendent said. “I’m impressed with the academic gains.”

“This is the second year we’ve started with our boot camps,” Sevey said. “We had a lot of amazing success with our students with these two weeks of boot camps.”

Students who participated in the science boot camp were given entry and exit assessments, and Sevey said there was a 45-point improvement on the post-assessments. The English language arts (ELA) boot camp saw a 38 point increase, and 30 points for social studies. In math, boot camp participants a 13-point increase.

Booth said goals for this year include a strong staff development program, restorative practices and culturally-responsive practices. He also named interventions the middle school will use for students struggling, whether academically, socially, or otherwise.

High school administrators Teresa Van Dunk and Ben Barkley told the board that core pass rates for 2021 led to a much smaller, but successful, summer school program for 2022. Barkley said efforts to reduce class sizes and other interventions led to 61 students completing this year’s program, down from 110 last year.

Van Dunk and Barkley said the smaller summer school is doesn’t mean efforts were unsuccessful, rather the outcome of staff working hard during the regular school year.

“(Students) made gains in core pass rates and that’s fantastic,” Barkley said. “Graduation is key and we don’t want our kids falling behind.”

He said goals for the high school this year include a continued concentration on raising graduation rates, improving the social and emotional network and increasing after-school programs.