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Reading, math on summer agenda

By Angie Oravec 4 min read

Students of all ages sharpened their pencils and their reading and math skills at the Laurel Highlands School District’s Summer Reading and Math Camp, which wrapped up classes earlier this week. The camp, made possible solely through various grants, worked to strengthen pre-kindergarten to high school students’ skills, while providing fun incentives for attendance.

The program, in operation for more than 10 years, targeted students who achieved below-proficiency levels on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), said Carol Bubonovich, coordinator of the program and director of federal funds and elementary education for the district.

Bubonovich called this year’s program a success, noting it ushered in 300 students from pre-kindergarten through ninth grade to campsites in Clark Elementary and the middle and high schools.

Sporting Reading and Math Camp T-shirts on their last day of camp, grade-school students purchased small items such as pencils, candy and Play-Doh at a school store at R.W. Clark Elementary after earning play money throughout the six weeks of the program by having good attendance, achieving good grades and following rules such as raising their hand to give an answer.

Assistant teacher Stephanie Snyder, a student entering her senior year at Laurel Highlands High School, helped about 20 kindergarten students with the activity that taught students about money.

Snyder was one of several senior students who worked at the camp during the summer to earn hours for their senior projects. She decided to join the camp after thinking it would be a nice activity for her to get involved in to gain some teaching experience.

With ambitions to one day become a teacher, Snyder said she enjoyed the experience, which also was a time of learning for her since it taught her hands-on ways to teach students.

Snyder said all the students had fun and it gave her the opportunity to learn some possible lesson plans.

“I enjoyed helping kids because they really get attached to you,” said Snyder, 17. “You have to be strict with them at first, but then they listen.”

Snyder also said the program helped those going into first grade because it gives them a chance to understand what they will learn after kindergarten. For pre-kindergarten students, the camp taught basic skills required in school, including learning to be part of a group, raising their hand, printing their name and learning basic colors, said Bubonovich.

“It will even the playing field before they start school,” she said.

Feedback about the camps has been positive, with some parents calling to learn of the camp’s date for next year, said Bubonovich.

The camp benefited students in other areas besides academics. Students were provided meals each day, and were bused to the elementary, middle and high school sites. The ability of the district to provide transportation for the second consecutive year has accounted for a significant increase in attendance, said Bubonovich. Last year marked record attendance over the past years of the long-running program, with 350 students attending in 2005.

Students entering ninth grade went to the high school to receive not only lessons in reading and math, but also a feel for the school they will attend in the fall, she added. Science and social studies was reinforced in the middle-school program, which hosted sixth- and seventh-graders. Writing also was incorporated into lesson plans, she said.

With the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act signed by President Bush in 2002, districts across the nation have focused on ensuring districts are meeting reading and math test targets.

Bubonovich said the camps used to incorporate a parent-involvement day and a time for the students to play games, but with school districts being held accountable for meeting standards required under NCLB, including above-proficient scores on PSSA tests, those activities had to be omitted.

Districts now are in the process of verifying 2005-06 PSSA test scores information to possibly make adjustments, though results of the tests won’t be released to the public until late August or early September, according to the state Department of Education.

Bubonovich said results for Laurel Highlands look favorable, noting that shows the reading and math camps and the mandatory after-school tutoring program meant to promote student achievement are paying off.

“Results are favorable, but it’s a work in progress just like in every district,” she said. “We’re doing all we can do, but I know we can do more.”

She said the scores of students who attended the camp last year will be looked at to determine the program’s impact.

The 2006 Reading and Math Camp was funded by grants of the Educational Assistance Program to provide tutoring to improve student achievement and the 21st Century Learning Community, which was awarded to a consortium of five Fayette County school districts. Supplementing the grants was federal Title I money, for which the district qualifies based on its poverty level.

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