Summer School... The Movie

Summer School is Funner School at Audubon Elementary!

Video and Photos by Gary Olsen

August 14, 2003

he concept of summer school probably doesn't sit well with most kids, except if you were to visit Audubon Elementary in Dubuque. Here, summer school is funner school, especially when one of your rewards for attending is a trip to the Grand Harbor Resort and Water Park. This incentive made a big splash with the students and the teachers, too. In the words of teacher, Cindia Baltz, "It was a 'Grand Finale' to a great Summer Reading Academy in which 127 students participated."

Summer School... The Movie
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Audubon offered this year's summer Reading Academy to all students who qualified to received additional supplemental reading services. "Supplemental reading services" is defined by the Federal not child Left Behind legislation and administered through a grant from Iowa's Title One funds.

The three weeks of reading instruction focuses on phonemic awareness (younger students), phonics, word study, vocabulary building, reading comprehension and writing. Audubon students benefit from the generosity of other Dubuque friends and neighbors this summer as well.

The City of Dubuque awarded a $20,000 grant to help Audubon build a collection of leveled guided reading books ranging in interest and difficulty from pre-K through sixth grade. The collection helped summer school teachers introduce quality nonfiction and fiction books to Audubon School's eager summer readers. Each reader was challenged by books right at his or her reading skills, ability and interest levels. Every reader could find books to read successfully in the classroom.

Women Connect, an organization of Dubuque Bank & Trust recognized a need for Audubon children to own personal copies of books to keep at home. Women Connect generously donated $500 to purchase high-interest paperback books to give to students. Each child attending summer school selected a favorite book every Friday.

Parents and grandparents are among a child's first most important teachers. On two connective Friday mornings, parents gathered at Audubon to learn ways to help their children develop phonemic awareness, read with fluency and expression, and attend to comprehension, or reading with meaning. Parents, too, received a paperback book as a perk for attending the parent meetings,

Each Friday, the students, staff, parents, Dubuque Community School administrators, and business representatives gathered in the gym for a Reading Pep Rally to celebrate a week of reading and achievement.

In the past, many schools have offered a kindergarten, first, and second grade summer school program. However, Audubon was selected this year to explore a more complete pre-kindergarten to grade 6 summer experience.

So, when school starts this fall, 127 readers at Audubon will be practiced and ready for challenges ahead; perhaps because of experiences in the Summer Reading Academy 2003.

 

Instructions For Those Outside of Our School Network (The General Public)

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Which Player is Best for Me?

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Macintosh Owners:

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Teacher, Cindia Baltz provides feedback to a student who just read a story.
Principal Kay Helbing at the "End of Summer School Convocation," listens to Superintendent, John Burgart as he announces for the first time in public that Audubon has succeeded in improved performance and is no longer on the list of "school in need of improvement," designated by the No Child Left Behind Act last year. Below, Kay celebrates with the kids at the Grand Harbor Water Park, a gift to the students provided by the resort hotel.
Mickey Covey, a Hempstead student, was the volunteer coordinator for the contingent of high school students who worked this summer's Reading Academy. At right is Gary Olsen interviewing Dubuque Bank & Trust CEO Lynn Fuller and the officers of Women Connect, a group of executives who contributed funds to purchase free books for Audubon families.
Retired teacher and summer school reading instructor at Audubon, Marilyn Skahill, works with students. Below, one of the Foster Grandparents like Grandma Shirley (below), have become valuable members of the team.

Above, Gary interviews Sue Moran of the Grand Harbor Resort and Water Park. The extremely popular attraction provided a day at the facility for all students of the Reading Academy. "We're all about kids," said Sue who also was a student at Audubon when she was a youngster.
Hi mom!
   

 

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