INTENT
This four-week program for students from all eleven elementary schools provides literacy and math academic support to students in Grades K-5. We expect students to attend all four weeks of the program.

RECRUITING STUDENTS AND STAFF

Students
The Director of Elementary Education coordinated with school leadership/intervention teams in mid-February to develop a list of K-5 students who currently receive literacy and/or math intervention supports or who might benefit from academic learning acceleration programming during the summer due to interrupted or remote learning experiences over the past two years. We utilized winter benchmark assessment data to establish guideline criteria to ensure equitable identification of students across our eleven elementary schools. Additionally, school teams established a “wait list” for students who may not currently be in intervention but whose progress classroom teachers, curriculum specialists and reading specialists would monitor following parent-teacher conferences in March. Pending registrations and availability of staffing/spaces in the identified school for the program, we might consider students from the Wait List for enrollment.

At parent-teacher conferences in March, families received an overview of the Summer Program with an embedded registration form with a March 31 registration deadline. The online Summer Connections information document was created in Smore, a familiar online platform utilized for elementary school newsletters, which is translatable in multiple languages. Schools also provided hard copies of the registration form to families as needed, sending completed forms to the Curriculum Office for input into a shared Google spreadsheet. In May, families received a confirmation note which included a dedicated cell phone number for the program.

Enrollment - K-55 in 6 classes, 1-61 in 6 classes, 2-47 in 4 classes, 3- 28 in 2 classes, 4-32 in 3 classes, 5-34 in 3 classes total 257

Staff
All staff hired for the program are West Hartford Public Schools educators.

Coordinators
Support from Curriculum Office through spring - transition to coordinators during week leading up to program and throughout program
Application process for teachers; posting for paras (clerical and instructional)
Substitute teacher list

Pay rates
Teacher = summer hourly Rate (per teacher contract)
Paras = hourly rate per contract
TAs (½ day rate): $50/day

Program Design
Class sizes are small with no more than 8-15 students per class.
Students begin their day with a morning meeting greeting/activity with their class. They work with a team of staff members on literacy and math lessons. We also plan special theme days, some time for outdoor play, and coding (Grades 3-5).

SUMMER CONNECTIONS SAMPLE SCHEDULES

INSTRUCTIONAL MODELS

Morning meeting, whole group, small group, tutorial.

OPERATIONAL FEATURES

A daily breakfast/snack is provided to all students by the WHPS Nutrition Services Department. Families may send in their own snack if they prefer to do so. A school nurse will be available for consultation during program hours.