Mt. Pleasant opening summer school to more

MT. PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant Community School District is revamping its summer school program this year to help make up for the major loss in learning that occurred last spring due to the coronavirus shut down.

With the end of the school year weeks away, the district is preparing for summer school.

In the words of Katie Gavin, the district’s curriculum director, “The countdown has begun, but learning’s not over yet.”

The district is opening summer school to all students K-12 for new subjects beyond the basics including project based learning, enrichment opportunities, and social and emotional learning. Gavin said this year’s summer program is expanding to include more subjects.

“We’ve changed the focus. It's not just a … program for remediation, it’s really about building a kid's confidence,” Katie said.

“We’ve come up with a purpose that’s not just to enhance literacy but to enhance success by offering expanded opportunities to increase engagement, build relationships and accelerate learning in a pro-social environment,” Gavin said.

The district is looking to increase interest in school and help students keep meaningful relationships at school.

“We want kids to stay engaged with us in a positive way and to a large extent to have them love school and the people at school so that the anxiety of coming is lessened,” Gavin said.

They are aiming at expanding social and emotional learning by adding things that aren’t your normal subjects to the program. Including demonstrations from the REC center, Henry County Conservation and Iowa State University Extension office.

The district has targeted at-risk students to ensure that they are getting the support that they need this summer. This includes postcards sent to parents inviting them to summer school.

According to Gavin, students experience a major loss of learning last spring.

“We still know that last year we are recuperating from that 10-week gap in learning and for some the trauma of what we’ve gone through,” Gavin said.

The program will run from mid-June to early July with the elementary school going June 18-July 14.

The program will run only four hours each day. It will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at noon. Sack lunch will be provided for all students as they leave at noon.

The summer school program is open to anyone K-12 who would like to go. They have open registration on the district’s website. If you are interested in learning more, talk with building administrators.