Aiken County Public School District students enjoyed access to more learning opportunities over the summer months, and more students than ever took full advantage of those opportunities.
The results are in, and they show Aiken County students at all performance levels as having made tremendous gains while also preventing summer learning loss.
The goal of the District’s summer learning program was to connect ACPSD families with community, or school-based resources for continued learning throughout the summer. Aiken County Public Schools exceeded this goal through personalized academic engagement and a diverse set of programs to prevent summer learning loss, accelerate advanced students, and intervene for students who are struggling.
“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our administrators and teachers who stepped forward to be a part of our successful summer learning instruction, because without their passion and participation the success our students enjoyed would not have been possible,” stated Superintendent Dr. Sean Alford during the August 8 board meeting. “Through the efforts of our District leaders and our teachers, we were able to offer students a diverse portfolio of academic opportunity at each grade level. These opportunities not only addressed summer learning loss, but they were also utilized to advance student knowledge and enhance their skills ahead of the new school year.”
The programs offered to ACPSD students reached all grade levels, and all achievement levels. At the elementary school level, they included Countdown to Kindergarten, Waterford Summer Learning, Compass Pathblazer and Summer Reading Camp. Middle school summer programs included Content Recovery, Math Acceleration, iNFUSION Writing Camp, Virtual Academy and Summer Math Enrichment. At the high school level, they included Project Success and Summer School.
Individual ACPSD Summer Learning Programs reported the following success and student achievements:
Countdown to Kindergarten – Selected Pre-Kindergarten students referred by 4K teachers received in-home support. District staff members conducted 210 home visits, and 85-percent of students in the program were assigned to their Countdown to Kindergarten teacher for the 2017-18 school year.
Waterford Summer Learning – Nearly 400 rising Kindergarten and first-grade students displayed reading level growth during the program. The District provided computers and wireless access to families who did not previously have access to a device, enabling those students to participate in the program.
Compass Pathblazer – More than 700 second- through fifth-grade students participated in the program and utilized the English and Math activities, logging 2,354 hours of instruction and producing an average weekly score per student of 83 percent.
Summer Reading Camp – This year’s summer reading camp enjoyed 77-percent student participation overall, and nearly half of the students enrolled attended at least 80 percent of the camp sessions. Seventy percent of students who received pre-camp and post-camp assessments displayed an increase of at least one reading level. In writing, 76-percent of students who received pre-camp and post-camp assessments showed an increase of one level.
Content Recovery – More than 100 middle school students participated in content recovery this summer, with 83-percent of students meeting or exceeding their 80-percent score threshold to recover course credit.
Math Acceleration – Fifth-grade and sixth-grade students from throughout the county were invited to participate in the program based upon grades, standardized test scores, and a Pre-Algebra or Algebra I assessment. Fifth-graders mastered sixth-grade standards, and sixth-graders mastered seventh-grade standards. Nearly 300 students in the Pre-Algebra acceleration unit displayed an average growth of 23 points per student, while over 450 students in the Algebra I acceleration unit showed an average growth of 38 points per student.
iNFUSION Writing Camp – Rising eighth-grade students with plans to take English I participated in the virtual writing camp, with 21 students completing the program and displaying their work during a student expo held at the District office prior to the start of the 2017-18 school year. Student scores in Expository, Persuasive, Argumentative and Research writing improved by an average of nearly 40 points over the course of the summer.
Virtual Academy – One hundred and seventy-nine students taking course work in Geometry Honors, Keyboarding, and Computer Applications performed at a 94-percent passing rate.
Summer Math Enrichment – Students with disabilities in sixth through eighth grades who did not meet 2016 Math SC Ready benchmarks gathered at four locations across the District to receive standards-based instruction, targeted skills instruction and computer-assisted instruction. More than 120 students participated in the program, with many displaying at least nine weeks of instructional growth and others showing over one year of academic growth.
Project Success –In this grant-funded initiative, over 300 rising ninth and tenth grade invited students throughout the county met at Aiken Middle School and Paul Knox Middle School over the summer to enhance their reading, math and career-ready skills, while also participating in engaging and informative field trips to local college campuses.
Summer School – High School students from across Aiken County enrolled in initial course work and credit recovery this summer. Nearly 90 percent of the 261 students enrolled completed their courses, and the program celebrated 21 new high school graduates.
LINK TO DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE: 2017 PR DISTRICT SUMMER LEARNING SUCCESS