PEABODY — With approximately five weeks left in the summer, the School Department’s summer school programs are still bursting at the seams as the district prepares to return to the classroom Aug. 30.
“Things have been going extremely well,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala. “I’m excited to say that we have tripled our summer programming this summer, so that is very good news for us, knowing we are keeping students engaged.”
Vadala said one of the most successful programs this summer is the Credit Recovery program, which doubled in size compared to last summer.
Of 169 enrolled students, 139 (82 percent) have successfully completed the program and received course credits. The 30 who did not complete the program will have the opportunity to resume the course in the fall.
“The course work they started is not for naught,” Vadala said. “We are going to work with them in the fall to pick up where they left off and continue that credit recovery. Their work over the summer will count toward the fall, so we are really excited about that.”
Participation in the special education department’s extended-year program also increased, Vadala said.
Two hundred and fifty elementary-age students are enrolled in the in-person program, with 20 students enrolled in the high school and post-graduate program. Another 60 students are receiving compensatory and support services to address learning loss due to the pandemic. In the English language learners program, 55 students are participating on an in-person basis with another 21 working remotely with ELL teachers and translators.
The summer-reading program at the Carroll School has also been a big hit, with nearly 60 K-5 students from across the city participating.
The For Kids Only (FKO) program has 240 elementary- and middle school-age students enrolled; again, an increase from 2020. The program, which is licensed by the state’s Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), is hosted by the Higgins Middle School and Welch Elementary School and runs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The program features an academic/enrichment hybrid, with students working with Peabody teachers on academic activities and with YAMA (Young Audiences of Massachusetts) representatives on enrichment activities. The program also offers Project Adventure activities every Friday in Beverly.
“It’s a really exciting, hands-on program,” Vadala said, adding the program is looking for volunteers and chaperones.
Vadala added that the summer programming has been “masks optional” for staff and students.
“We did get permission from the Health Department and the vast majority of people have opted for no masks,” he said. “It seems to be going well, but we will continue to encourage good hand hygiene and monitor student and staff symptoms. Also, we will continue to talk to (Health Director) Sharon Cameron and stay on top of the numbers in the community and how things are going.”
Vadala said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the American Academy of Pediatrics will be issuing guidelines soon for the fall.
“We did want to put this out this summer while our numbers were good and start to reintroduce people to an academic environment where they are free to wear masks if they choose and also are free to attend without masks,” Vadala said. “It’s been successful so far. We will continue to monitor it and will have a recommendation for the fall. I think we are all hopeful that this continues the way we are going.”
Vadala also wanted to give a shout out to the Peabody Recreation Department.
“They have been unbelievable,” Vadala said. “They started off outside and now are, as numbers improve, able to open that up and get inside with the Peabody basketball camp at the high school.”
Vadala said many communities have struggled to get people to work this summer, but Peabody’s staff “stepped up.
“Our teachers, our support staff, our nurses, our administrators — with the programming having tripled, we were able to staff with our people for the most part,” he said. “FKO is even tapping into the Peabody educators as well. The work they have done has been unbelievable.”
