Summer School FAQ
5/19/2021 10:49 pm
The FAQ below represents our best understanding of 2021 Summer School for Sligo Creek Elementary School (SCES) and, where mentioned, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). Authoritative information would have to come from SCES or MCPS staff. Websites can be found at:
SCES -- https://www2.montgomeryschools
MCPS -- https://www.montgomeryschoolsm
https://www.montgomeryschoolsm
Please see the June 16th email from Principal Rand & Mrs. Perkins (sent from email@blackboard.com/SLIGO CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL) and the June 25th & July 1st emails from Mrs. Perkins (Yasmin_M_Perkins@mcpsmd.org).
In some cases, the emails regarding summer school seem to be going to the SECONDARY email on a student's account. If you aren't seeing these messages, ask your partner/secondary email contact to check their inbox.
Table of Contents
GENERAL INFORMATION
Q: Who is coordinating Summer School for SCES?
A: In conjunction with Principal Rand and the staff, Mrs. Perkins is leading Summer School coordination. Questions may be directed to her at Yasmin_M_Perkins@mcpsmd.org; please consider copying Joe Shashaty at joe@shashaty.net for later inclusion in this FAQ.
Q: Will Summer School at SCES be in person or virtual?
A: SCES Summer School will be in person -- there will be no virtual instruction for these classes. However, MCPS is offering a Virtual Summer Program as a centralized service. Families can only choose one for each student. (See ENROLLMENT below.)
Q: What are the dates for Summer School?
A: 2021 Summer School, both on-site at SCES and the virtually-delivered MCPS Central Summer Program, runs weekdays from Tuesday, July 6th until Friday, July 30th.
Q: What is the daily schedule for Summer School?
A: The local/in-person program at SCES will be from 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM daily. Doors will open at 9:20 AM (see LOGISTICS below). The online/virtual MCPS Central Summer Program will be from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM daily.
TEACHING & CONTENT
Q: What will be taught during Summer School?
A: SCES Summer School will include Mathematics (90 minutes), English-Language Arts (or French, if Immersion) (90 minutes), and Specials (Art, Wellness & Media; 60 minutes), with a 30-minute break for lunch. There will not be social studies or science. Content will include portions of the past year's curriculum that had been abbreviated or omitted due to the limitations of the pandemic and will be grade-specific (e.g., prior 2nd-grade students/rising 3rd-graders would receive 2nd-grade instruction but of material not completely covered during the school year). MCPS has been working to identify that which had been taught to limit overlap/repetition. The MCPS Central Summer Program will offer live virtual instruction (with breaks) in mathematics, reading, and writing, as well as special activities in fine arts, coding, STEM, media, and wellness.
Q: Which grades will be offered, and who will be teaching in each grade at SCES?
A: The SCES summer program will be offered for both Academy and Immersion for rising 1st graders through rising 5th graders. There will not be a class for rising Kindergarteners in either Academy or Immersion; families of rising Kindergarteners might contact MCPS to see if a nearby elementary school has a Kindergarten summer school class to which they might be assigned, as Associate Superintendent Niki Hazel earlier had indicated that any who registered would be afforded room and there are families at other schools who were able to arrange an alternate summer location. The Academy 2nd and 3rd grades will be combined for the summer. Families will be receiving a welcome email from the assigned teacher by July 2nd with information about their specific class. Rising 6th graders should look at offerings at their Middle School (e.g., SSIMS).
Q: Will there be options this summer for those who had difficulty learning (virtual or otherwise) this past year and might need remedial help?
A: MCPS is aware of learning loss this past year from many factors. In addition, they know that not all students will be attending summer school. Therefore, they plan to embed foundational skills that might not have been learned this year within instruction when we return to school in the fall. Over the summer, in addition to the in-person and virtual options previously described, the county is planning to have resources available for students to access content independently. At this time, specific information about the resources is unavailable. As soon as it is shared with the school, SCES will share it with the community.
Q: Will Chromebooks be used during the summer term at SCES?
A: Students should bring their Chromebooks daily, but they will not be in use at all times -- students will also be completing assignments through paper/pencil tasks. However, some tasks will need to be completed online such as pre- & post-assessments in math and ELA for certain grade levels. In both math and ELA, students will be using Eureka math packets and the Benchmark texts (or French resources for FI students). Summer school at SCES will provide a transition to some sense of normalcy, with a balance of paper/pencil and technology.
ENROLLMENT
Q: When did registration begin and end?
A: Registration began on May 3rd and ended on June 4th. It is not certain that enrollment can be reopened for anyone who missed the registration window -- best to contact Ms. Perkins directly for SCES summer school and MCPS for the virtual program (CentralSummerES@mcpsmd.org | 240-740-5702).
Q: How did one register?
A: To register for in-person summer school at SCES, one followed the "Register Here" link in the blue oval on the SCES summer school flyer (see the website above). To register for the virtual MCPS Central Summer Program, one followed the link at the bottom of the same flyer (or scanned the QR code) to log in to ParentVue, then clicked on the "Online Registration" link top right and follow the resulting prompts. These registration links may now be closed (see above for contact to see if registration is still available).
Q: What about the SCES Summer School interest survey?
A: The earlier survey is now closed. MCPS/SCES will utilize that data to help estimate the demand for summer school spots through the end of the enrollment period. Please note that completion of the SCES Summer School interest survey did not result in enrollment -- registration must have been done separately via the links mentioned above.
Q: Can we enroll our student for a portion of the Summer School period?
A: No. Enrollment is for the entire 19-day term.
Q: How did SCES determine the grades/number of seats that will be available?
A: SCES took both registrations and interest survey responses into account in planning for Summer School capacity. The number of spaces in each class will adhere to CDC, Maryland, and Montgomery County guidelines.
Q: Is/was availability guaranteed?
A: SCES was able to secure staffing for the grades mentioned above (i.e., all except rising Kindergarteners, applying to both Academy and Immersion). All families who registered should have received the 6/25 & 7/1 emails from Mrs. Perkins to indicate enrollment and should be receiving an email from the summer term teacher by Friday, July 2nd. Associate Superintendent Niki Hazel indicated at the early May Board of Education meeting that MCPS would provide support to ensure space is available to all who register; this should have applied to the MCPS Central Summer Program, as well, but enrollment would have to be confirmed independently.
Q: How is enrollment prioritized if there are limited seats?
A: Per the above, there does not seem to be registration numbers that would limit seats available.
Q: If capacity is reached at SCES for in-person Summer School, will families be notified so that they may seek enrollment in the MCPS Central Summer Program (or at another local school)?
A: See the above; emails from Mrs. Perkins should have been received on 6/25 & 7/1. Should a family seek summer enrollment at other local schools, they will be prioritized below students for whom that is the home school; in such a situation, transportation will need to be provided by the family to the alternate school. Please note that area elementary schools may seek to consolidate their summer programs at one campus to improve efficiencies, and this may mean that not all schools will have a summer program on campus. Should a family seek summer enrollment in the MCPS Central Summer Program, the anticipation is that space will be afforded. However, the published registration deadline for all summer programs, in-person or virtual, was June 4th, and it is unclear if new registrations will be allowed.
LOGISTICS
Q: Will bus service be offered for SCES in-person Summer School?
A: Yes. Routes/schedules for buses designated for local catchment and immersion transportation can be seen at https://drive.google.com/file/
PLEASE NOTE: There is a slight timing change in one of the routes from the earlier FAQ and there now are 3 routes serving Immersion students, with central stops at schools throughout the lower portion of the county. Also, there will be no crossing guards available during summer school -- there are two bus stops for students who live on the other side of Wayne Ave.
IMPORTANT -- Before 7/5, please fill out the transportation form linked in Mrs. Perkins' 7/1 email to let the school know your child's arrival and dismissal routines, including expected bus stops, if applicable. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezPJbMlo8_8IeOtMsxeNrB--3GXKldLcbmhoZyA8YT4dthTQ/viewform
Q: What is the earliest time for drop-off & what is the arrival routine?
A: Doors open at 9:20. All (car riders, bus riders, and walkers) will enter at the side door of the car circle, next to the music room. Late arrivals (after 9:30) should enter under the canopy (to the right of and above the main entry/grand staircase).
Q: What time is dismissal & what is the dismissal routine?
A: Dismissal is at 2:00. Walkers will be dismissed from the side door of the car circle, and car riders will be picked up in the car circle (have a sign with your child's name on it placed in the window).
Q: What about early dismissal (e.g., for a medical appointment)?
A: Please email your child’s teacher and Ms. Saunders (summer school secretary) at Robyn_N_Saunders@mcpsmd.org to report a need for early dismissal before arriving on campus.
Q: Will lunch/meal service be offered?
A: Breakfast and lunch will be provided at SCES at no cost to any student who would like it. Lunch will be eaten in the cafeteria or the classroom (depending on class size). In addition, MCPS is offering meal pick-up from June 25th through July 31st for MCPS students/all Montgomery County children:
https://www.montgomeryschoolsm
https://www.montgomeryschoolsm
Q: Will before- and after-care options be available?
A: There will be summer camps that utilize MCPS campuses. Some may offer time-complementary options to students enrolled at that school. However, there are no programs/camps offered at Sligo Creek (or SSIMS). KidsCo, which operates before- and after-care at SCES during the school year, is operating a camp at Pinecrest ES over the summer. While no formal transportation from SCES is provided, the first stop of the "Elephant" bus is at that school; families would need to arrange with KidsCo for any proper receiving of their children via that method. KidsCo space is limited, and families are encouraged to check with other camp providers.
Q: How many students will be in a summer class at SCES?
A: Depending on the enrollment for each grade level & program, class sizes may range from under 12 up to 22.
Q: Will masks be required in school?
A: The mask mandate remains an MCPS expectation for indoor school spaces regardless of vaccination status.
Q: Will there be a health tech/nurse at SCES during summer school?
A: There is not an assigned health tech/nurse at this time, though MCPS is working to correct this and develop associated procedures for health incidents during the summer. SCES is hoping to get an update before Tuesday and will share any updates with the community. Families will be called to pick up any child who is not feeling well. Other information regarding students' health needs (e.g., emergency medication, etc.) is pending the MCPS action; families should contact the school/Mrs. Perkins directly to make arrangements.
Q: After enrollment, may a student be withdrawn?
A: Yes. Please email our summer school secretary, Ms. Saunders, at Robyn_N_Saunders@mcpsmd.org if your child will no longer be attending the summer program.
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