Destiny Flood will start middle school in August, but when her mother saw her fifth grade test scores a few months ago, she didn’t think Destiny was prepared.
“I was like, ‘She needs help,’” said Destiny’s mother, Michelle McClendon. “I called the school right away.”
The school, Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy on the westside of Atlanta, told McClendon she could enroll Destiny in the district’s Academic Recovery Academy on the school’s campus.
“I felt like she wasn’t ready for middle school,” McClendon said. “But bringing her to this program, she’s been excited every day.”
Tuskegee is one of 19 elementary school sites for the ARA. It’s unclear whether the ARA, which started in 2021, will continue. The program has been funded by COVID-19 pandemic relief money. Because federal pandemic relief funds for the program run out this school year, officials would need to find money in next year’s budget to keep it going. The four-week program ended June 30.
The goal was to help students regain ground lost during the pandemic. APS has sent surveys to parents and students for feedback. If the responses show a demand for the program, the district could propose continuing it to the school board.
While other school districts have used pandemic relief money to help fund summer programs, APS is one of the few that have targeted summer programs specifically for students who fell behind during remote learning. Students who scored on the lowest level — “beginning learner” — on the Georgia Milestones were strongly encouraged to attend the ARA, but the option was open to all APS students.
Credit: Martha Dalton
Credit: Martha Dalton
The district said there are signs the program is working — at least for some. Seventeen percent of elementary school students who scored in the bottom level of the state-issued test in math and English language arts in the winter of 2022, and attended the program for at least 18 days last summer, moved up one level in subsequent exams.
About 10,000 students attended the program this summer, according to data from the district. The ARA was largely focused on math and reading instruction but also included social emotional learning, where students work on managing emotions and improving relationship skills. Transportation and meals were included. About 77% of students who enrolled in the ARA this summer consistently attended.
Destiny said she enjoyed the program because the ARA teachers were attentive and took their time with her.
“In regular school … I didn’t like how teachers were teaching,” Destiny said. “I didn’t like how they wanted us to have (the answer) that second. But with these teachers, if you get anything wrong …they’ll explain it to you.”
Summer learning programs often sell themselves as being a more fun version of school. Students, though, often need incentives to show up to learn in the summer instead of going on vacation or spending the day at the pool, research shows.
Nechelle Sharp, the site coordinator for APS’s recovery academy at Tuskegee, said the program focuses on math and English language arts in the morning and hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities in the afternoon.
“We look at their social and emotional skills and how we can support them there,” Sharp said. “Then we build math and literacy, then we go into the enrichment.”
Credit: Martha Dalton
Credit: Martha Dalton
However, the small numbers at Tuskegee could benefit the students who do show up. APS requires a teacher/student ratio of 1:15 for the recovery academy. On a recent Monday, Jasmine Hill’s fourth grade reading class had two teachers for its six students, which allowed teachers to give students individual attention. Hill sat with two boys at a small table. She faced them as they worked through a chapter book.
“Sophia follows nervously,” Hill reads. “What do you think ‘nervously’ means?”
“You might be scared to talk,” a student answers.
At another table, a paraprofessional worked with two more students, asking them questions about what they read. Two girls worked together writing essays about the story they read.
Sharp says it was difficult to get students to come to the program consistently. Two hundred fifty registered for the program at Tuskegee this summer. One hundred fifty-five showed up initially. That dwindled to 101 during the third week. Sharp said it was a challenge for some parents to make sure their kids arrived by 7:15 a.m. when the program started.
“If I work overnight, and then I’m coming in, I’m a little bit tired,” she said about some parents.
Sharp said it may help to start the program a little later in the day. Marco Pitts, the assistant site coordinator at Tuskegee, suggested making the program four days with Fridays either off or reserved for field trips.
“Get (students) out of the building on Fridays,” he said. “I think that would help to give the kids more exposure.”
Third grader Journey Williams also had a recommendation.
“(Put a) trampoline in my class ... and then kids can do whatever they want,” she said.
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