District 24 summer program gets high marks

More than 200 students from Valley Stream District 24 are keeping their minds sharp this summer at the Robert W. Carbonaro School, as teachers are giving extra instruction in English language arts and math.

The summer school program, which is run through BOCES, is open to students from the three elementary schools as well as private school students living in the district. There are 217 children enrolled in the 20-day program, which ends on Friday.

“All the kids that are here are recommended by their teachers, just to work on extra skills that they learned during the school year,” summer school Principal Jim Friel said.

Friel, who just retired after teaching for 16 years at Carbonaro, is one of more than 20 district faculty and staff members working with the program. There are also more than a dozen high school-age volunteers who are helping out in the classrooms for community service credit.

Despite coming to school in the summer, Friel said the children seem happy to be there. “They’re out of here at 11 o’clock,” he said. “They have the full day to do whatever they want to do.”

For students entering grades 1-6, the program focuses on academics, specifically reading, writing and math. They also get to visit the computer lab at least once a week.

In the first-grade class, a new reading program is being tested, which is expected to be unveiled in all kindergarten through second-grade classes in September. Super Kids focuses on handwriting, the alphabet and reading comprehension.

Teacher Andrea Sommella explained that there are 14 characters in the series, each with their own stories, that the children can follow for three years as they move through the series. “The characters grow with the kids,” she said.

In a fourth-grade class, teacher Jackie Roth has her students start each day by writing in their journals. They move on to reading and writing before finishing with mathematics, where the focus is on multiplication.

Roth said she likes the summer program because of the small class sizes. On a given day, she has no more than 10 students. “I get to work individually with them or in small groups,” she said, “so it’s really geared toward their individual needs.”

Jeannie Gavigan says she is able to accomplish a lot in just a few hours each day. She has her students do research projects that require a lot of reading and writing.

Friel said he consistently gets good feedback from parents, who like that the district offers this opportunity for their children.

The kindergarten program is open to all students who will be starting school in September. Children are placed into classrooms based on the school they will attend, so they can meet some of their future classmates.

Kindergarten teacher Norma Ferrigno said it helps the children with any possible separation anxiety they might experience in going to school for the first time.

Her colleague, Margaret Otton, said there is some academic work as children practice their letters and numbers, but most of the program is about socialization and getting the children ready for the daily routine of school. Much of the day is spent playing games, doing arts and crafts and learning about the classroom environment.

“The focus of our program is to get them ready for kindergarten,” Otton said. “We try to make it fun. It’s a little more relaxed than regular school.”

Otton said there are also themes each week based on authors or popular book characters.

As a kindergarten teacher in the district, Otton said she believes the summer program makes a big difference for those who attend, as they are well-prepared for the beginning of kindergarten. “We’re very lucky to have this program,” she said. “It’s very beneficial.”