Summer School Letter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They can’t make the recommendation until the MTSS process has concluded and it’s been documented that multiple interventions have not been successful and gaps in knowledge still persist.

WHY is this the first a parent is hearing about it? The summer school letter comes home and it's the first indication of a problem (I mean beyond not being an A student ... but is B/C so horrible?)

A child does not need to go through MTSS to be invited to summer school. The student in my class who last received an invitation was never brought up in MTSS, passed both SOL tests (3rd grade) and is in level 3 AAP. Someone just showed up one day last week with a packet to send home to the parents. They are working their way down the list as others decline.

I'm impressed that FCPS can find the staff for Summer school, APS has been struggling

[Anonymous]

Failing in FCPS is pretty drastic so you should absolutely get a tutor or send your kid to summer school. My child's elementary typically only invites the children that haven't learned English and kids with major learning disabilities.

[Anonymous]

At our school they definitely go down the list as people decline. My daughter has been invited despite always being above grade level (always passed SOLs; all As in honors classes in 6th grade this year). We decline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our school they definitely go down the list as people decline. My daughter has been invited despite always being above grade level (always passed SOLs; all As in honors classes in 6th grade this year). We decline.

it doesn’t seem like an all As honor student should require summer school remediation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind if the school can’t “fill” the summer school classes, they will systematically go down lists of kids in certain grades. At our school they were inviting kids in AAP and also promoting the “summer school” as a fun summer learning environment (program). Op, you have a tutor, you recognize there “could”be an issue in one subject. Please don’t let this ruin anything fun for your child or family this summer. Have fun and go about your summer plans.

I am one of the posters who said we got the letter every year and turned it down. This is exactly how it was promoted. A fun learning summer program. My kid pass advanced some elementary SOLs and took honors classes in middle school. He still got the letter despite never failing a class.

I suspect you are in a high-SES school. We are in a low-SES school and my mixed race (half-white, half-asian) child who has failed her SOLs two years in a row has never been offered a spot in summer school even though lower income hispanic and middle eastern friends who are doing great in school attend. I know exactly why.

Yes, we are in a high SES school. They go down the list and try to fill the slots, offering to anyone since these programs aren’t well attended. It’s not fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do these come so late? When most working parents have already had to pay for camps for their kids? Do they think kids will just be sitting around all summer? Camps fill up so fast that I book mine latest March. Last year my daughter got the invitation but I'd already shelled out over a thousand dollars for summer camps - nonrefundable.

Not every kid goes to camp. They can’t make the recommendation until the MTSS process has concluded and it’s been documented that multiple interventions have not been successful and gaps in knowledge still persist. I understand your frustration but there has to be enough data to show that the child is consistently not meeting benchmarks and remains at a place of mastery that will make the next year too challenging.

TBH, this sounds terrifying. If I were a parent who got one of these letters and had enrolled my kid in camp earlier, I would either send my kid to the free summer school or pay for a supplemental tutor, depending on my means. Failing in school trumps camps, at least for those who have a choice, and camps aren't cheap either.

I’m the teacher PP and this is the typical response we get from parents . They want US to do any and everything on our end during the school year but when we say “okay now you need to do this to help your child too” it’s too much. They have camp, summer plans, etc. They don’t want summer school for whatever reason so they don’t go and then act like it’s on us when their kid continues to struggle the next year. It’s not all, but this is definitely the more common response than the parent actually shifting plans or committing to anything inconvenient for their child’s academic well being. And these letters come late but not out of nowhere - the kids who ultimately qualify for summer school struggle throughout the year and their parents are aware.

This is an unfair comment, I can't do Soar for my invited Child this year because they need to be at Daycamp because I work and need childcare that is safe and reliable and the City of Fairfax camps are exactly that. Last year they were able to leave camp and go to SOAR and come back because SOAR was at their school as was camp. THis year SOAR is at a different school in our pyramid and the city summer camp at that school filled on the first day or two weeks before the soar invite. FCPS, plese don't make things harder for working parents than they already are. My husband is fully in the office, and I'm Hybrid. No local family. Going to do what I can myself to work with them. We now know they have a learning disability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do these come so late? When most working parents have already had to pay for camps for their kids? Do they think kids will just be sitting around all summer? Camps fill up so fast that I book mine latest March. Last year my daughter got the invitation but I'd already shelled out over a thousand dollars for summer camps - nonrefundable.

Not every kid goes to camp. They can’t make the recommendation until the MTSS process has concluded and it’s been documented that multiple interventions have not been successful and gaps in knowledge still persist. I understand your frustration but there has to be enough data to show that the child is consistently not meeting benchmarks and remains at a place of mastery that will make the next year too challenging.

TBH, this sounds terrifying. If I were a parent who got one of these letters and had enrolled my kid in camp earlier, I would either send my kid to the free summer school or pay for a supplemental tutor, depending on my means. Failing in school trumps camps, at least for those who have a choice, and camps aren't cheap either.

I’m the teacher PP and this is the typical response we get from parents . They want US to do any and everything on our end during the school year but when we say “okay now you need to do this to help your child too” it’s too much. They have camp, summer plans, etc. They don’t want summer school for whatever reason so they don’t go and then act like it’s on us when their kid continues to struggle the next year. It’s not all, but this is definitely the more common response than the parent actually shifting plans or committing to anything inconvenient for their child’s academic well being. And these letters come late but not out of nowhere - the kids who ultimately qualify for summer school struggle throughout the year and their parents are aware.

This is an unfair comment, I can't do Soar for my invited Child this year because they need to be at Daycamp because I work and need childcare that is safe and reliable and the City of Fairfax camps are exactly that. Last year they were able to leave camp and go to SOAR and come back because SOAR was at their school as was camp. THis year SOAR is at a different school in our pyramid and the city summer camp at that school filled on the first day or two weeks before the soar invite. FCPS, plese don't make things harder for working parents than they already are. My husband is fully in the office, and I'm Hybrid. No local family. Going to do what I can myself to work with them. We now know they have a learning disability.

Also -- in terms of timing, FCPS needs to provide MORE info to parents in a more efficient, clear, and expedited manner to the parents of children who are in the greatest need because they are struggling. What I've noticed is a severe hesitancy to raise these issues with parents because they kick off a wave of other concerns, including requests for local screens for SPED. Instead, this info is dumped on parents at the end of year. By June most parents have spent money paying for camps they can't get refunds on -- they are in a terrible position. It is awful to blame parents for this and I say this as an FCPS teacher on maternity leave -- the county is just terrible at communicating that a child is struggling in a timely manner. Often, kids are just passed onto the next year with inflated grades because the schools don't have the resources to support these struggling kids during the year. Summer school is a band-aid and an acknowledgment that we failed your kid in my view.