In a corner of a humid classroom in Clifton School, two students wearing headphones sat next to each other and listened to a reading program while a teacher guided them.

        In back of the school, two students swung their legs over playground equipment and listened to an instructional assistant read Cinderella.

        Throughout Clifton School this week, students worked in small groups, getting individualized instruction, mostly in reading and some in math, through Cincinnati Public Schools' summer school program.

Instructional assistant Shirley Willis works with Kenita Cook (center) and Katelyn Kessler, both 8, during a summer school program at Clifton School. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Educators believe the intense six-week program — which is mandatory for students in second and third grade who fail the reading portion of a district proficiency test — will help many at-risk students level out their varying degrees of skills.

        This year, CPS added a week to the program, which began last week and runs through July 20.

        “These programs can make a critical difference if designed appropriately,” said Anne Sweet, senior researcher in reading and literacy at the U.S. Department of Education.

        Diagnostic testing of each student is crucial to determine students' strengths and weaknesses. Teaching must then be geared to those strengths and deficits, she said.

        That's an important technique at the CPS summer school program. Teachers assess students and then teach to gaps in students' learning, said Michael O'Laughlin, reading/communication arts curriculum manager for Cincinnati Public Schools.

        The gaps can be great. In teacher Elizabeth Berry's classroom, first-grade students each have blue baskets filled with books and activities tailored to their skills.

        One basket shows a student is reading the book Owl at Home, filled with words like climbed, finished and cupboard. In another basket, a student has a tiny letter-specific book, with all words beginning with M like monkey, moon and milk. Each word is accompanied by a picture for ease of recognition.

        Ms. Berry, a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at Clifton, explained: “It's amazing. You can zero in on what their individual needs are (with this program). With three adults in the room, it's not hard. You can see gains in the first week.”

        The ratio of instructors and tutors to students is about 4 to 1 at summer school. That permits special attention to students' needs, said Clifton principal Jeannie Schoonover. Grades one to three traditionally have a teacher-student ratio of about 16 to 1, she said.

        Many kids need the individual attention, educators say.

        This year, 2,997 CPS second- and third-graders were required to attend summer school, having failed the reading portion of the proficiency test.

        “These are kids who have struggled throughout the school year,” Ms. Schoonover said. “This really does move them ahead.”

        The intensive four hours of learning and reading helps to fill some of the gaps, Ms. Schoonover said.

        Summer school can be beneficial especially for urban students who tend to lose more ground during the summer months, said Marilyn Stenvall, executive director of the National Association for Year-Round Education. Often, poorer urban school students don't have the same access to theater, arts enrichment and other cultural activities during the summer months that their suburban counterparts do, she said.

        However, proponents of year-round education say that summer programs, while beneficial, are too little, too late.

        “Summer school itself is ordinarily a remedial measure — something we do after failure,” Ms. Stenvall said. “Our organization promotes a balanced education. We look at year-round education being preventive rather than remedial.”

        But for students who need remedial help, summer school works, CPS officials say.

        Last year, 61 percent of third-graders who attended summer school passed the reading portion of the proficiency test in July. At the end of this summer session, students will be tested again, and educators expect positive results.

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