Henry Daily Herald

Phonecia Wilson, the assistant principal at McDonough’s Walnut Creek Elementary School, plans to pilot a program at the school dubbed “The Summer Academy.”

Designed to keep young students intellectually active over the summer break, the program is “intensive, and it’s not daycare,” Wilson emphasized. The administrator continued, “It’s not remediation, it’s acceleration.”

Wilson said teachers typically devote two to three weeks, of the new school year to re-teaching the previous year’s curriculum before they are able to teach to new standards on the higher grade level.

“We’re trying to combat summer regression, so that we can hit the ground running in August,” she said. “What we’re trying to teach is the first six weeks of the curriculum.”

The assistant principal said the program will be taught by “highly qualified” (certified) teachers.

Wilson said the program’s curriculum goals include: participation among parents, teachers and students; acceleration, and expanding students’ knowledge and skills; and remediation of student weaknesses.

Wilson said the program is open to any student between the first-grade through the fifth-grade. She said rising kindergartners will be accepted in the program as long as they are already enrolled in a kindergarten program.

The Summer Academy is scheduled from June 4 until July 6. Participants will meet Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m. until noon, daily.

Enrollment is limited to the school building’s capacity, according to Wilson. Tuition is $300, and must be paid by the start date of the program, Monday, June 4. She said discounts and fee schedules are available, and parents may reserve a spot in the program for $20. To learn more, visit www.henry.k12.ga.us/wc.