About 470 students took advantage of a four-day academic week during February vacation, Shelton school officials said.
The “February Academic Instructional Program” was held at seven city schools — the five elementary schools, Perry Hill School and Shelton Intermediate School — during the third week of February.
The program gave students a chance to ease back into learning after several snow days canceled school in January and February.
School officials had also hoped to catch students up on missed work that might have helped them on their state standardized tests in March.
“I think this was something appealing to parents because of the number of missed days in February,” Superintendent Freeman Burr told the Board of Education last week.
Burr said the program cost the district about $37,000 — of which $5,000 was funded through federal grants — to open and staff the schools.
Some board members questioned if the district should host an academic session during February break in the future.
Burr said the program was popular this year because of the snow, but he wasn’t sure it would be well-attended if repeated.
“The community at large appreciated the fact that this opportunity was made available to their kids,” Burr said. “But I’m not sure, looking at the numbers, if this is something we would want to institutionalize in the future.”
Burr said it’s worth exploring, though.
Board of Education member Kate Kutash suggested hosting the program in just one building. Other members suggested charging for the program in the future, and perhaps providing transportation. This February, parents had to drive their children to the schools.
Board members thanked the staff that worked during the week, and reviewed a report from parents and staff members. The summary of that report is posted below.
Burr said the small class sizes and focused teaching helped the students who attended. He said there was a good vibe going through the schools during the program.
“To walk through there, you got a good feeling that positive things were going on,” Burr said.
