Portola Valley district pilots academic summer school Portola Valley district pilots academic summer school (August 10, 2005)

** Students polish reading, writing, math skills in small classes, relaxed setting.

By Marjorie Mader

Almanac Staff Writer

Portola Valley School District broke new ground when it piloted an academic summer school this year for students who might benefit from extra help in reading, writing and math.

The district hasn't offered a summer school in decades. An academic summer school -- with students in small classes and getting individual help focused on specific needs -- was a different approach.

Superintendent Anne Campbell came up with the idea of the district-funded summer school as a way to help students sharpen their academic skills and not lose ground over the summer months. The school cost the district $27,680 and was free for the students.

Trustees stepped up to the plate, supporting this opportunity to try some different ideas.

"It was great," said Ms. Campbell, who served as summer school principal. The kids liked being in small classes and getting individual help, she said. Teachers got a chance to try new ideas. And the laid-back and beautiful setting at Corte Madera, with views to Windy Hill, would be hard to beat, she added.

Superintendent Campbell will present a detailed assessment of the program at the school board's next meeting at 8:30 a.m. Friday, August 26, in the board's meeting room at Corte Madera School.
Enrollment balloons

The district expected 35 to 40 students, but enrollment mushroomed to 85 at the four-week school. Classes were held Monday through Thursday, and ran from June 22 to July 20.

Students and their parents were required to sign a contract expressing their commitment to regular attendance, and the students pledged to read at least 30 minutes a day outside school.

Superintendent Campbell invited incoming first- and second-graders, who live in East Palo Alto and will enter the district August 29 under the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program, to participate in summer school.

"It's an opportunity for the new students to become acquainted with the school environment, and for staff to get to know them," she said.

Each morning, Ms. Campbell greeted by name 16 students from East Palo Alto as they got off the school bus.

The school was organized into four classes, each with 16 to 18 students, plus a teacher, instructional aide and student aide.

Teaching the class of incoming first- and second-graders was Kiroko Otsuka, a first-grade teacher at Woodside School. Her students were surprised to see hanging in a corner of the room a large, black net cylinder with some strange, dark objects clinging to the top. They watched the objects change each day until some beautiful "Painted Lady" butterflies emerged and were set free on the school grounds.

In another classroom, Andrea Gal, who teaches in the San Mateo-Foster City district, helped students in the third-and-fourth-grade class with writing, math and reading.

Corte Madera fourth-grade teachers Dana Fox and William Frederick shared the language-arts assignment for the combined fifth- through eighth- grade students.

Brigetta Brown, science teacher at Corte Madera, was quite at home in her science classroom, but she taught math for the upper-grade students.

"It was a great experience," said Mr. Frederick.

By working with students in four different grades, he said, he learned a lot about how to "differentiate" instruction -- tailoring the teaching to the different learning styles of the students.

Among the instructional aides were Nate Bowen and Wyatt Grant, who have worked in the special education program, directed by Carolyn Schwartzbord, during the school year at Woodside and Portola Valley.

Special education teacher Angela Naughton was available to provide services to special-education students.

The school, said Ms. Campbell, was "very different than regular school, definitely low-key."

" The students only have to work three hours, they buckle down, and then get to go home," said one of the instructional aides. "They're all good kids, and there were no problems."

Students did have time for recess on the playground. Girls took turns playing tether ball. The younger students scrambled on the play equipment. Others tossed a monster Frisbee, jumped rope, or sat on the ground and talked.

School ended on an upbeat note: a rousing game of tossing water balloons and barbecue lunch for all

E-mail Marjorie Mader at mmader@AlmanacNews.com

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