U-46 summer school programs see highs and lows

Enrollment in Elgin Area School District U-46 summer school programs may be up over last year, but attendance numbers for some of them have board members asking if the right students are receiving help.

Program supervisors presented school board members an update of the district's summer learning programs, which provide select students opportunities to recover lost credits, retain skills or accelerate learning during the summer break.

While attendance in programs like Extended School Year - a program for 237 special needs students - was 95 percent, the district's summer bridges program had 211 students drop out and another 325 no-shows. More than 1350 students completed the program.

Board members said the program had more that 500 empty seats that other students could have filled.

The summer bridges program helps students in elementary school and middle school succeed at the next grade level, said Greg Walker, assistant superintendent of secondary education. The program is not mandatory, which hampers attendance, Walker said.

"You will always have the students who will come and take advantage of the program and those that won't," he said Tuesday. "We will look at the areas of greatest need and focus our resources there. The challenge of having limited resources is a double-edged sword."

Numbers from the high school credit recovery and course acceleration program for students learning English saw 88 students participate over two sessions at South Elgin High School. Of those, just one student failed. In the program for general high school students, 826 students participated, also at South Elgin High School. A total of eight failed.