Battle Ground Public Schools fight ‘Summer Slide’ with four-week summer school

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The thought of going back to school for four weeks usually isn’t on the average fifth grader’s “to-do” list when he or she is released for summer break. 

But what if Legos are involved? 

As the hottest period of the summer kicked into full gear last week, Battle Ground Public Schools’ summer school program was in its last week and a group of fifth-grade students at River Homelink were trying to figure out which model of a Lego cart, presented via projector, would go faster.

While the students pondered, their instructor Linda Hess, who teaches at Pleasant Valley Middle School during the regular school year, spotted something she liked.

“Do you see how he’s looking at the text for help?” she said to the class while pointing at a boy sitting with his legs crossed in the front row. “Awesome skill.” 

Much like using one’s textbook to look up an answer, the district’s summer school is based around maintaining and creating good studying and classroom habits and staying sharp during the long break. 

By doing so, the district hopes to prevent “summer slide,” a term used when students lose imperative classroom and study habits or fall behind.

This is not unique to Battle Ground Public Schools. A survey from the National Summer Learning Association, based on information from 500 teachers, found that teachers end up re-teaching a lot of past material because of summer slide. 

Lisa Hipolito, the learning assistance program coordinator for the district and a part of Battle Ground summer school for the last six years, said reading and work with numbers is their primary focus when keeping students engaged during the summer. 

Along with reading and math, a big focus is behavioral patterns. This includes simple directions, such as reminding a student to look someone in the eye when speaking to them.

The program runs from early July to early August, a time frame that Hipolito said they felt was right because many families go on vacation once school is out in June. 



Students are from first through fifth grades, and the school day runs 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

There were seven certified staff members on hand, along with 13 assistants. The program is through community education and is open to all students. 

Reading and writing are the main focuses among first- and second-graders. Grades three through five focus more on mathematics and problem solving, but all students, no matter their grade, are encouraged to read all summer long. 

“Our goal is to put a book in as many hands as possible,” Hipolito said. 

The summer school almost took on the feel of camp when The Reflector stopped by last week.  Students seemed to be tricked into learning math because they were having fun using Legos. Language lessons were taught using singing and chants. Students got a 15-minute break every 45 minutes to play with Play-Doh, paint with foam paint or take part in organized gym and outdoor games, among other activities. 

Kelly Moses, ESL program coordinator during the school year, said a mother recently told them that her son was never interested in school before he went to summer school. But now, she said, he can’t wait to get to school every day. 

“It’s a happy place,” Moses added. 

Furthermore, Hipolito said staff from around the district continue to report back to her when the regular school year starts up again how the four weeks of summer school has had a drastic impact on students who attended. 

Although officials see summer school programs as being a success, this year only 142 students enrolled (that doesn’t always mean they all showed up, though), which is only a fraction of the number of grade-school students in the district. For example, 4,246 students were enrolled last year.