Staunton City Schools Prepare for Summer School Program

STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) – Around the Valley, students and teachers are preparing for summer school.

Administrators say this program has become especially important after a year of virtual and blended learning.

“We’ve all wasted a lot of direct instructional time with students,” said Stephanie Haskins, executive director of instruction for Staunton City Schools. “We really had to focus on some key standards. Really trying to figure out, what are the things we want to focus on the most to have the highest level of impact.

The Staunton City Schools summer program usually has about 100 students, but this year they invited over 500 students for about four weeks of instruction.

The summer school program will start on June 7 and will continue until July 2.

“Having this intensive four-week program will allow us to really focus on some key standards and some key areas, and by having these students in person, in our schools, teachers are really able to provide that direct instruction,” said Haskins. .

The main focus of this year’s program for area schools is to re-engage students.

“We have different themes and focus areas that we’ve tried to integrate to make it an exciting experience for students while being very learning-focused,” Haskins said.

And some teachers took reading training this week to learn new strategies that will help them teach effectively and maximize their time with K-2 students.

“Teachers this week learn specific strategies for really understanding each other, the different patterns of words, the different patterns of sounds, and how words come together,” Haskins explained. “By providing key reasons and understanding, they are able to make this process much more efficient for students.”

Staunton City Schools is also in partnership with the Staunton-Augusta YMCA. Elementary students will receive instruction Monday through Friday, with YMCA enrichment in the afternoons and Fridays.

Middle and high school students will have lessons from Monday to Thursday.