The following article was selected from the Internet Edition of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser to http://chicagotribune.com/. ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding---------------- Article forwarded by: Cayata Dixon Return e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Article URL: http://chicagotribune.com/news/local/article/0,1051,SAV-0106200367,00.html ---Forwarded article---------------- Summer school the biggest ever By Michael Martinez Jessica Ghanayem, an 8th grader at Brentano Elementary School on the Northwest Side, didn't appreciate the Chicago Public Schools' efforts this year to again expand summer school. On Tuesday, Chicago Board of Education president-designate Michael Scott rang a school bell for the first time--and outgoing schools CEO Paul Vallas rang it for his last time--to begin summer school with a projected record enrollment of 225,000 students, or 52 percent of the schools' enrollment. But several 8th graders differed with officials' flattering descriptions of the myriad summer programs for remedial, enrichment and recreational purposes. Jessica is being forced to attend school this summer because her math score in May was at a 7.9 grade level, just missing the 8.0 level in reading and math needed for promotion. Her reading score of 8.3, however, easily passed the board's promotion standard. "Just one (tenth of a) point! How do they do that? They don't even waive you," said Jessica, whose shirt bore the word "Attitude." Added Denise Sanchez, another 8th grader being forced to attend summer school for posting a reading score at a 7.5 grade level: "It stinks....Four hours (a day), seven weeks: That's too much." Of course, the officials disagreed. In public remarks, Scott told more than 100 pupils and teachers gathered outside Brentano that summer school is a chance for youngsters to catch up academically. Later this month, Scott will officially replace school board president Gery Chico, who recently resigned after Mayor Richard Daley's displeasure over falling test scores. "At one time, I attended summer school," said Scott, referring to his first two years at the now-closed St. Philip High School. "During the time I attended summer school, there was kind of a negative connotation attached to it." Today, he said, summer school means "an opportunity for you to continue to pursue excellence." Vallas also submitted his resignation, two weeks after Chico did, and Scott said Tuesday that Vallas' successor won't be announced until after the board's monthly meeting on June 27. The city's academic summer programs serve three types of pupils in grades 3, 6 and 8, Vallas said. There are those who failed to meet promotion standards and now must attend summer school and pass the Iowa Tests in August to be promoted; those with reading and math scores below the promotion standard but who were given a conditional promotion provided they pass summer school with at least a C grade; and those who passed the board's promotion standards but are still below grade level in reading and math. The last group of pupils were to have faced mandatory summer school or risk being held back a grade--a proposed major expansion--but school officials backed off and made the session, called "summer booster," voluntary. At Brentano, administrators said the central office funded for summer booster classes only 15 seats each for 3rd and 6th graders although about 25 3rd graders and 20 6th graders qualified. Vallas said he projected 225,000 to 240,000 students in the system's various summer programs, including 79,000 in remedial and special and bilingual education programs. Last year's summer enrollment figures were 190,000 students overall, with 60,000 in the remedial and other educational programs. "This is going to be our largest summer school program," Vallas said. ---------------------------------------------------- This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
