Special Education Extended School Year, Aug 2009
Posted: July 27, 2009
Special Education ESY (summer school) will be held August 3-6th and 11-14th, from 9 am to noon. Students will be bused to Mt. Harrison School and a snack will be provided midmorning for all students enrolled in this session of Summer School.
Extended School Year (ESY) is offered every year for students enrolled in Special Education in Minidoka County. Traditionally this has been held in early June for two weeks. However, this year, after reviewing research from universities and educational research groups around the country, in particular that of Keith Allred of BSU, the decision was made to schedule Special Education summer school in early August, right before school resumes in the fall.
“Research indicates,” noted Marlane Garner, Director of Special Services for the District, “that students in Special Education benefit more from getting a jump start right before school resumes.” One of the state criteria for qualification for Special Ed ESY is that the students have significant difficulty retaining what they have learned. Holding ESY in June does not address this problem for students adequately. Therefore, according to Garner, it was decided to try waiting until August for ESY and then to document the difference for the students. If holding summer school in August is more beneficial for students, helping them to get that “jump start” to recalling what they have already learned, then it will be worth the change. If benefits are significant, then ESY may continue to be held just before school resumes in the fall in future years as well.
Eligibility for Special Education summer school is determined through the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process in conjunction with team recommendations, teacher observations, parent input and annual assessments. Student recommendations for ESY were decided by IEP teams before school was out in the spring. ESY is a limited scope program for those who qualify but is open to all Special Education students regardless of ethnicity or economic background.
By: Marlane Garner, Ed. S., Director, Special Services