Summer school gets underway

By GREG JORDAN
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

June 22, 2009 07:22 pm

— PRINCETON — Most teen-agers dream of days on the beach and on the road when summer arrives, but there are others who return to class either to make up a failing grade or get ahead for the coming school year.
Summer school started Monday in Mercer County and across the state line in Tazewell, Va. At Princeton Senior High School, 59 students started classes with several more expected today.
“The students we have this year are coming from seventh grade through twelfth grade,” said Assistant Principal Rosemary Mitchell. “It (curriculum) is the core classes–the sciences, history, math and English.”
In Mercer County, any student who has failed a class may attend summer school to make it up, Mitchell said. A student can take only one class. Fees for classes come in different price levels based on lunch fees: for students getting free lunches, it’s $250; reduced price lunches, $300; and full-price is $375.
Summer school runs from June 22 until July 29. Daily classes are from 7:25 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Meals are not provided, but students can eat a snack during the two 10 minute breaks each day, she said.
Many of the students who take summer school pass their courses, Mitchell said.
“We have a good success rate with kids in summer school,” she said. “They’re taking one class, and the classes are much smaller than in regular school. If they’re in math, that’s what they’re doing the whole time. They really do better.”
In Tazewell County, some students attend summer school so they can take a required class. This allows them time in their schedule for band, choir or an advanced placement class when school opens for the fall, said Assistant Superintendent Christine Kinser.
At Tazewell High School, 94 students from grades nine through twelfth take classes. Seniors who did not graduate because they failed a class attend, and student who failed a Standards of Learning (SOL) class attend. Some students pay $100 fees for classes.