Esko schools: Summer catch-up plans approved

Jana Peterson

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To make up for learning lost during the pandemic, Esko schools have a plan to help students who are struggling catch up and stay on top of their learning without giving up their summer vacation.

Esko School Board members unanimously approved two plans — one for secondary, one for elementary — for summer learning to help “bridge” the gap caused in part by distance learning over the past school year.

At the elementary level, principal Brian Harker said teachers will run a “summer learning academy” for a total of nine days: three days each month in June, July and August. They plan to identify approximately 10 students at each grade level from K-5, who will be taught by a teacher from the grade they are going into. Five students from each grade will attend the first session from 8:30 to 10 a.m. and five more from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

“The goal is to keep reading in mind and their math skills fresh,” Harker told the board during Monday’s meeting, stressing that they were looking for a balance between giving kids a “normal” summer and working on educational skills. “We’ll see where that brings us in the fall.”

At the high school level, the goal is credit recovery, and students will be able to work at their own pace. Students in grades 7-11 will complete contracted assignments and assessments that are individualized for each course that needs to be completed. The summer school classes will run from 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday, from June 14-17, June 21-24 and June 28-July 1. Principal Greg Hexum said they’ve invited 46 students to participate.

“As they finish, they’re dismissed,” Hexum said. “It might take one person a week, or someone else three weeks.”

Summer programming has always been an option for Esko students, but it’s usually at the Cloquet Area Alternative Education Program in Cloquet.

“This will be Esko standards, Esko teachers, Esko work,” Hexum said.

A spring semester after school program to help students catch up was very successful, he added, noting that out of 37 students, 31 are back on track from the first semester.

The high school program will be paid for by alternative learning funds from the state. Pandemic rescue package funds from the state and federal government will also help pay for the summer programs.