Press Release

Summer School Begins June 26 For Nearly 7,000

Summer school begins Monday, June 26, for students in grades 1 through 10 who need an academic boost.

Students in grades two through eight will focus on improving their reading skills. Second- and third-grade students who are one year below grade level; fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students who are 1.5 years below grade level; and seventh- and eight-grade students who are two years below grade level are required to attend. About 4,000 students in all are expected in grades two through eight.

Students in grades nine and ten who have not received credit for algebra I or II, are required to attend. About 525 high school students are anticipated. (One year of algebra is required for graduation as part of three years of mathematics.)

Additionally, about 2,300 students in grades one through eight whose native language is not English will be enrolled in English Language Development classes on a voluntary basis.

The program began in the summer of 1997 for students in grades three, five and eight. The program was expanded to grades two through 10 this summer with funds from the $17 million mill levy approved by voters in 1998. This year, the program ahs been expanded to first-grade non-English speakers and those who need help in algebra II. Also this summer, the requirements for students in grades two through eight to avoid summer school have been strengthened, meaning more students qualify for summer school. Last year, 4,958 students attended the summer program.

"We continue to enhance and expand our summer school program to reach the students who need extra help the most," said Acting Superintendent Bernadette Seick. "We are convinced that providing additional instruction, in a slightly different setting, is invaluable to our students."

Those students who are required to attend and do not will be retained in their current grade for the 2000-2001 school year. No more than two absences during the 19-day program will be permitted.

About 5,100 students were originally expected on a mandatory basis in grades one through eight. About 1,100 of those increased their test scores on the spring Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and won't have to attend.

Final notices are being mailed to parents beginning the week of June 5. Location and transportation information will be included. Transportation will be provided in most cases based on the same basis as during the regular school year - for students living more than one mile from an elementary school and for students living more than 2.5 miles from a middle school. High school students will be provided tokens for using RTD.

Forty-five schools will be open to accommodate the program.

At elementary schools, the program will run from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; at middle schools, from 9:10 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.; at high schools from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Summer school runs through July 21. There will be no classes July 4.

Schools that will be open for the summer program are:

Elementary Schools:
Barnum (85 Hooker St.)
Barrett (2900 Richard Allen Ct.)
Bromwell (2500 E. 4th Ave.)
Centennial (4665 Raleigh St.)
Colfax (1526 Tennyson St.)
College View (2675 S. Decatur St.)
Doull (2520 S. Utica St.)
Eagleton (880 Hooker St.)
Edison (3350 Quitman St.)
Fairmont (520 W. 3rd Ave.)
Fairview (2715 W. 11th Ave.)
Godsman (2120 W. Arkansas Ave.)
Greenlee (1150 Lipan St.)
Harrington (2401 E. 37th Ave.)
Maxwell (14390 W. Bolling Dr.)
McGlone (4500 Crown Blvd.)
McMeen (1000 S. Holly St.)
Palmer (995 Grape St.)
Samuels (3985 S. Vincennes Ct.)
Schenck (1300 S. Lowell Blvd.)
Schmitt (1820 S. Vallejo St.)
Smedley (4250 Shoshone St.)
Smith (3590 Jasmine St.)
Swansea (4650 Columbine St.)
Whittier (2480 Downing St.)
Valdez (2525 W. 29th Ave.)

Middle Schools:
Baker (574 W. 6th Ave.)
Cole (3240 Humboldt St.)
Grant (1751 S. Washington St.)
Kepner (911 S. Hazel Ct.)
Kunsmiller (2250 S. Quitman Way)
Lake (1820 Lowell Blvd.)
Place (7125 Cherry Creek N. Dr.)
Skinner (3435 W. 40th Ave.)
Smiley (2540 Holly St.)
Montbello High School (for Martin Luther King, Jr. students) (5000 Crown Blvd.)

High Schools:
Emerson St. School (835 E. 18th Ave.)
George Washington (655 S. Monaco St.)
John F. Kennedy (2855 S. Lamar St.)
Manual (1700 E. 28th Ave.)
Montbello ( 5000 Crown Blvd.)
North (2960 Speer Blvd.)
Thomas Jefferson (3950 S. Holly St.)
West (951 Elati St.)