Changes coming to summer school in Tazewell County

By CHARLES OWENS
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

June 15, 2008 09:46 pm

— TAZEWELL, Va. — The current summer school session in Tazewell County will be the last for students hoping to repeat failed courses. However, neighboring Mercer County will continue to offer summer remediation courses for students needing to repeat courses.
Beginning next year, summer school in Tazewell County will include physical education courses, but not an opportunity for remediation for students who fail a class during the regular school year. School officials are hoping the change will encourage students to prioritize their courses during the regular school year.
“This will be the last year that we offer summer school as such,” Tazewell County School Superintendent Dr. Brenda Lawson said. “We will offer the opportunity in the summer for students to take PE 9 and 10. But if students fail a class, they will have to repeat it during the school year, or attend the community college and take it as a dual enrollment.”
The first summer school session in Tazewell County began last week. Summer school for high school students in Mercer County will begin on June 23 at Princeton Senior High School. Most schools in Mercer County are fully air-conditioned, so the summer heat isn’t expected to be a problem for students attending summer school. All classrooms at Princeton Senior High School are air-conditioned.
Summer school in Mercer County will continue to offer opportunities for students needing to repeat courses, School Superintendent Dr. Deborah Akers said.
“For the high school students we have at Princeton High School, it is summer school for students who have failed classes only,” Akers said. “But we do have several special summer programs, including summer academies and different types of summer enrichment catch-up programs across the county.”
In McDowell County, an Energy Express program will begin at Fall River Elementary on June 23 and run for six weeks. Summer school will be offered at all of the county’s elementary schools through Title 1 and West Virginia Reads grant funding, McDowell County School Superintendent Suzette Cook said. A credit recovery course will be offered at the secondary level beginning July 7 in McDowell County. A four-week summer reading program also will be offered at Anawalt, Bradshaw Kimball, Southside and Welch. Cook said most of the schools in McDowell County have air conditioning units in the event of extreme heat.
In the past, students in Tazewell County who failed a course during the regular school year could take it again during a 12 day summer school session. That option will no longer be offered beginning with the 2008-2009 summer school session.
“We want them to know that whatever you do, do your best the first opportunity you have,” Lawson said. “I can tell you our teachers are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that our students are successful. We just need to maintain our focus throughout the school year.”
The current summer school session in Tazewell County also provides a student who is hoping to get ahead in the fall with an opportunity to take physical education and driver’s education courses during the summer. That way the students can focus on more advanced courses in the fall, Lawson said.
In Mercer County, Akers said students are allowed during the summer to repeat only core courses if enrollment justifies those summer courses.
“We offer the core courses, but we only offer them if we have enough students to take the course,” Akers said. “It’s only if we can justify it through enrollment.”
In Tazewell County, a separate summer enrichment program for children in the elementary and middle school level will begin Monday, and continue for two weeks at Richlands High School, Tazewell Middle School and Graham Middle School. Lawson said the summer enrichment program is open to all students, and parents who are encouraged to let their children participate. The summer enrichment program provides fun course offerings for the younger students, including everything from building rockets to preparing a play production.
In Mercer County, Akers said various summer enrichment programs will be held at different schools throughout the county, including Energy Express at Bluefield Intermediate, Lashmeet-Matoaka School, Mercer School and Oakvale School
Summer reading academies also are planned at various schools in Mercer County.
– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com