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Summer classes starts Monday
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The immersion may not be as dense as during the traditional year, but an estimated 1,100 students will continue classroom over the next couple of weeks as summer remediation kicks off through the Liberty Extended Academic Program.

This year, the program runs a couple days longer than last year, with three four-day weeks of remediation followed by two testing days, according to LCSS Title Programs Director Carol Spurlin.

“Teachers did not last year feel like they had time to do the remediation required and then do the retests,” Spurlin said.
Sessions begin Monday and run through June 21. CRCT retests are June 25-26.

Each elementary and middle school in the county will have summer classes from 8 a.m. to noon Mondays-Thursdays.

Spurlin said most schools have more than 100 students attending for optional and mandatory remediation, and the classes generally have 12 to 15 students.

Because all elementary and middle schools are identified as schoolwide Title 1 programs, the students will be offered breakfast and lunch at no charge. Transportation also will be available.

The school system is required to invite the 235 third- and fifth-grade students who did not pass the CRCT for reading or math.

A memo from Spurlin to the Liberty County Board of Education indicates that 63 students were invited to retest on third-grade reading, 50 were invited for fifth-grade reading and math, 25 for fifth-grade reading and 97 for fifth-grade math only.

“Some of those have indicated that they are not participating in the summer remediation and they will only come for the retest. Some have indicated they are not interested in doing either,” Spurlin told the BoE in a May work session. “But the majority of those students will come to summer school.”

Grades six through eight will offer remedial help to students in need in content area support, primarily in English and math, Spurlin said.

The district also invited 207 middle school students to retake the CRCT reading and math tests. Of those, 38 were invited to take both the reading and math, 10 for reading only and 159 for math.

Spurlin said K-8 students who may have passed their standardized tests but need additional help due to grades, absences or mid-year transfers also are invited.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to have some additional help with lower pupil to teacher ratio in a flexible setting,” Spurlin added.

This marks the third year for kindergarten camp, a transitional immersion experience for students registered for kindergarten at each of the eight elementary schools.

“It has been a great success, and parents have been very complementary because children have a time during those days to at least become acquainted with the school — where things are located, who the teachers are. They’ll see familiar faces and that kind of thing,” she said.

Liberty County high schools each handle their own remediation.

Due to the summer’s construction projects at Bradwell Institute, both schools will operate independent summer programs at Liberty County High School.

“So, as you can see, school ends, but it doesn’t really end,” Superintendent Dr. Judy Scherer said. “We pretty much go all summer by the time the high schools finish doing their remediation for Georgia High School Graduation Test.”

This year, high schools are required to offer retests for the end-of-course tests as well as GHSGT, Scherer added.

Liberty County High School graduation coach Debra Motley said Georgia credit recovery sessions also will be offered from 8 a.m.-noon Monday through June 21.

Students who need to make up math courses will be offered in-person instruction, while other core courses will be offered online and administered through the school’s computer lab.

End-of-course test retakes will be offered June 28-31. Unlike the lower grades, lunch and transportation are not provided to high school students, Motley said.

Enrollment numbers were not available Thursday afternoon as students were still registering.

Tutoring for those who need to retake the Georgia High School Graduation Test will be offered July 8-12, with test retakes July 16-19.

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