- May 19, 2024
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A remedial summer program that focused on reading skills helped 49% of third-grade students who would have otherwise been held back to advance to fourth grade.
The program similarly served sixth-grade students whose year-end test scores were insufficient.
The Flagler County School District holds a summer reading camp yearly. This summer, the camp served 100 third-grade students and 34 sixth-grade students.
“The teachers at the camp were excellent,” said Jill Lively, a K-12 English language arts curriculum specialist for the school district, during a Tuesday presentation to the Flagler County School Board. “We hired the very, very best teachers.”
State statutes mandate that if a student with a reading deficiency has not improved by the end of third grade (that is, if they score below a 2 on the FCAT), that student must be retained for the next school year.
This year, 19% of the district’s third-graders scored below level 2, down from 25% of students the year before.
The statutes allow for certain exemptions to the rule — one being that if a student passes a standardized reading assessment before the next school year, he or she may move on to the next grade.
This year, 95 out of the 120 third-grade students whose FCAT scores were too low qualified for a good cause exemption allowing for their promotion, thanks in large part to the summer reading program, Lively said.
More than 40% of those qualifying for an exemption did so after passing the reading test at the end of the summer camp.
The bulk of the rest of the students who met the exemption — 48% — fell under another exemption, which allows students with disabilities who have an individual education plan in place to advance grades. A handful of students met other exemptions.
The sixth-grade program showed greater success. This year, three teachers were dedicated to helping sixth-graders in courses they tested deficiently in, allowing all but one of them to advance to seventh grade without any provisions for coursework.
The School Board applauded Lively and the reading camp staff for their efforts. School Board member John Fischer said he visited the camp while it was in session and was surprised at how excited the students were about the coursework.
School Board member Colleen Conklin asked that staff explore the possibility of extending the program to ninth-grade students, as well.
“If we did, you’re talking about really holding on to those kids who are primed to drop out if they slipped in ninth grade,” she said.
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