Utilizing grant funding in the amount of $520,000 over four years from the South Carolina Department of Education to focus on providing additional opportunities for at-risk high school students, Aiken County Public Schools is operating an evidence-based program called Summit, which serves specific cohorts of students who are at risk of academic failure.
“For me back to school this year has been an exciting time because I have had the opportunity to reach out to students who were not on track to graduate this year and offer them a plan to graduate in June 2020 if they participate in this unique program,” commented Jennifer Kolmar, Assistant Principal at South Aiken High School and Summit Program Director.
“The Summit Program is about more than at-risk students earning a high school diploma; it is about providing individualized educational support focusing on the whole student,” Kolmar added. “The Summit Program aims to close the gap for students who have not been successful in the traditional high school model.”
Students who have committed to the program started working on Monday, October 5th.
The Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) Preparing College-And-Career-Ready Graduates Grant provides educational opportunities designed to assist high school at-risk students based on academic, career and social-emotional data. The ACPSD Summit initiative will operate as an evening high school program designed to increase the District’s graduation rate and decrease the number of students who either drop out or are off grade level.
Students in the Summit program will receive enhanced support services including alternative methods to earn high school credits coupled with services offered through community mentoring and counseling. Additionally, Summit will offer Summer Algebra I Intercession to students who have failed Algebra I during their first year of high school.
“These students are on a path where they will not graduate on time and they are likely to drop out unless some intervention is put in place which meets their needs,” stated Kolmar. “The Summit Program helps students gain the knowledge and skills to become contributing members of our community following graduation.”
The program is hosted at South Aiken High School on Monday through Thursday each week. It serves a cohort of 35 students selected from South Aiken High, Aiken High, and Wagener-Salley High Schools with a goal to expand the program to additional District high schools in the future.
LINK TO DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE: 2020 PR DISTRICT EEDA GRANT