Dallas ISD continues to provide high quality programs for students through the Summer Learning Program made possible through partnerships with Big Thought, Teach for America and Compass, the district’s teacher alternative certification program.
Summer Learning comprises three initiatives: the pre-K through grade 8 Summer Achievers Academy, high school credit recovery and Accelerated Instruction, a more traditional summer school offering geared towards students needing to pass state assessments and provided instruction to students that did not meet local promotion standards.
In June:
- 180 elementary and middle schools provided Summer Readiness to 7,075 students in graded 1-8;
- 180 elementary and middle schools provided SSI to 6,154 students in grades 5 and 8;
- 25 high schools provided EOC Test Prep to 2,062 students.
In July:
- Eight elementary and middle school campuses offered the Summer Achievers Programs, which currently serves 2,100 students in grades PK–8.
- 10 High School Credit Recovery Programs were offered this summer, serving 3,576 students in grades 9-12.
“What’s unique about our summer programs here in Dallas ISD are that we are not only serving students but also training and developing teachers by utilizing TFA and Compass Interns in summer learning classrooms to help teachers hone their teaching skills in preparation for the upcoming school year,” said Crystal Rentz, Director of Summer Learning. “Each TFA and Compass intern has a mentor teacher working with them to coach and model great teaching. The mentor teachers for these interns are some of the district’s highest rated teachers under the Teacher Excellence Initiative.”
One week ago, following recent events in Dallas, elementary and middle school Summer Achievers Academy students were provided a space for students to debrief through an art project in which students produced powerful artwork currently being displayed at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center near downtown.
As with the regular school year, unforeseen events happen requiring reflection and ways to help students process these events, one of the primary goals of the social emotional learning led by Big Thought at the district’s Summer Achievers Academy.
View some of this year’s Summer Learning activities in Dallas ISD here.
