RCS announces Accelerated Summer Learning program for grades K-8, high school summer programs

Rutherford County Schools will offer free, in-person learning camps in June for students in grades K-8, and a robust summer school program will also be available for high school students.

Additional information for both programs — including registration information — will be released soon and discussed in-depth at the district’s upcoming virtual Town Hall meeting, which will be held March 15 at 6 p.m. Any parents who have specific questions prior to the Town Hall meeting may email Dr. Jimmy Sullivan, assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, at [email protected].

K-8 LEARNING CAMPS

The summer learning camps being offered by Rutherford County Schools are funded through a Tennessee initiative to assist schools and students with learning loss related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rutherford County Schools will offer camps from Jun 1-24 at nine elementary school locations and five middle school locations.

All sites will offer six hours of instruction, four days a week, for free. Transportation, breakfast and lunch are also being provided at no charge.

The learning camps will consist of two hours of English Language Arts, two hours of math, an hour for academic intervention and an hour for physical activity.

All camps will be held in-person, which is required by the Tennessee Department of Education as part of the funding.

All current students in grades K-2 are automatically eligible for the camps, and registration information will be available soon.

For current students in grades 3-8, eligible students will receive a letter from their schools next week. To be eligible in grades 3-8, a student must have scored below the 25th percentile in English Language Arts or Math on the screeners conducted by schools earlier this year and/or be identified as a priority student by school personnel due to academic concerns.

Students in grades 3-8 who are eligible will have first priority for the camps, and the priority deadline to register will be March 26. After that date, any student in grades 3-8 can sign-up for the camps through April 23.

Sites for the camps were determined based on locations being used for the school district’s free summer food program.

Upon registering for the summer camps, students will be assigned to a site based on the school they currently attend.

Elementary sites (7:30-1:30):

• Barfield Elementary
• Blackman Elementary
• Cedar Grove Elementary
• John Colemon Elementary
• Kittrell Elementary
• LaVergne Lake Elementary
• Rockvale Elementary
• Smyrna Primary
• Stewartsboro Elementary

Middle school sites (8:30-2:30):

• Blackman Middle
• Christiana Middle
• LaVergne Middle
• Oakland Middle
• Rocky Fork Middle

Again, the K-8 Summer Learning Camps are offered at no cost to parents.

HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAMS

There are two programs for high school students being offered this summer.

The first will be held at Blackman High School, which is being used as the traditional summer school site this year. There is $100 fee per half credit for students in the summer school program at Blackman, which has been the standard summer school fee for many years.

The program at Blackman is available for any student, countywide, who meets the following criteria:

• Any student seeking to get ahead and take a course for the first time, or,
• Any student who is not eligible for the Credit Recovery Program offered at their zoned school and needs to makeup a course credit.

Students are not eligible for the Credit Recovery Program if they scored below 50 in the first attempt of the course.

For students who are eligible for the Credit Recovery Program, they will be able to complete their courses at their normal high school this summer. The only exceptions are for students attending Eagleville School, Central Magnet School, and Holloway High School. Credit Recovery for Eagleville will take place at Rockvale High School. Credit Recovery for Holloway and Central Magnet will take place at Siegel High School

Graduation coaches and administrators at each high school are working to identify eligible students and will be notifying those students and their parents soon.

There is no charge for summer Credit Recovery Program offered at all high schools. However, transportation and meals are not provided for the high school summer programs. More details about both these programs will be released in the coming weeks.

Any parents who have specific questions prior to the Town Hall meeting may email Dr. Jimmy Sullivan, assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, at [email protected].