After the COVID-19 pandemic kept children out of the classroom for most of the last two years, the school district in Charles County, Maryland, plans to help students fill in some of the gaps in their education.
At a board of education meeting Tuesday, Charles County Public Schools representatives unveiled a three-year plan that will focus to add specific instructional programs that will helps bounce back.
It uses a structured, multi-layer approach where learning in core subjects, like math and language arts, will be accelerated. Then, using performance data tracked in the district’s i-Ready student data collection system, students who need additional instruction will be broken out into small groups during the school day.
In a presentation to the board, officials used a 90-minute math block period as an example. Sixty minutes would be used for core resources and grade-level standards, while the remaining 30 minutes would be used for intervention and reinforcement that helps kids who are scoring below target.
Deputy Superintendent Kevin Lowndes pointed out how Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Elementary School has created two programs, Morning STARS for students in grades 1-5 and Afterschool SHINE Club as an example of programs that can help underperforming students.
The three-year program will also include opportunities for underperforming students to take part in both summer boost programs, as well as broader summer learning sessions to help them keep up with the curriculum.
The entire presentation can be found on the school system’s website.
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