Summer offers students and educators a well-deserved break after the rigors of a school year. But more and more, summer is becoming a critical time for many students to keep building their academic and social skills as they transition between school years. That’s particularly true for children served by Clackamas Education Service District, all of whom face one or more barriers to learning. Since mid-June, Clackamas ESD has been supporting extended learning and enrichment opportunities for hundreds of regional students of all ages who benefit most from extra time in the classroom with more one-on-one support:
- Our Migrant Education Program summer school provided migrant children with multi-week focused learning in several locations around the county, in partnership with school districts. Learning centered around core subjects of reading and math, but was far more expansive, folding in hands-on projects in the arts and sciences, such as building and launching rockets.
- Our Heron Creek Therapeutic Program welcomed many K-12 students back for a few weeks of engaging learning that included plenty of time for art, physical activity and building socialization skills.
- Our Life Enrichment Education Program held multi-age summer classes to build core communication and functional skills with higher-need students who face complex disabilities.
- Our early learning programs, which range from Head Start to Success classes to partnerships with community preschools, offered preschool children ages 3 and up a three-week-long summer opportunity for structured learning and play with their peers. Many of these children are preparing to transition to kindergarten this fall.
We’re grateful to our 10 partner school districts in Clackamas County for their ongoing collaboration to help us offer valuable extended summer learning opportunities to students throughout our region.
