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Hamden Board of Education reflects on academic summer programs

The Hamden Board of Education met for a public session to discuss Hamden Public Schools summer programming.

The Hamden Board of Education (BOE) members held a public session in-person and online to discuss Hamden Public Schools’ (HPS) summer programs on Tuesday night.

Board members, principals of HPS and teachers reviewed the newly-implemented free summer programs and presented the benefits of the program, improvements and feedback from parents and students.

Over the course of summer, 1,700 Hamden students participated in the summer school programming.

The programs focused on developing students’ social-emotional learning and the transition of integrating back to school, free meals and after school programming. Busing was provided to all students. 

The attendance rate for all programs averaged about 88% and provided parents with various programs such as the Hamden S.T.E.M. Camp, Summer Grind and Operation Joy and Engagement. 

HPS distributed 15 thousand more meals than last summer, totaling 68,733 meals. Photo Courtesy Operation and Joy Engagement presentation.

Along with free meals and transportation, HPS staff worked to provide additional resources, such as backpacks filled with school supplies, books and selection of staff members in age, diversity and educational backgrounds. 

Another three week program, the Summer Jaguar Camp, organized by Dunbar Hill’s elementary school principal Laura Rodriguez shared pictures of the educational enrichment activities including a mad science rocket show and an interactive guest appearance from Beardsley Zoomobile.  Also, students participated in tie-dying and observing chickens hatch from eggs.

To pursue the goals of engaging children, working with mental health and reintegrating students in physical classrooms since COVID-19, the Read To Grow program donated more than 200 books and each camper received at least two books. 

Following the presentations on summer programs, HPS Director of Athletics Tom Dyer shared the success of the athletics program, Summer Grind.

Themes each day varied from health days, academic days to weight training for non-athletic students, with campers broken into five groups.

As all of the programs received positive feedback from parents and campers, the board of education seeks improvement for the following summer in hopes of the programs returning. 

Parents reacted positively to the BOE’s summer programs. Photo Courtesy Hamden Stem Camp of parents feedback.

Sue Smey, director of media for the BOE, identified the following goals for the 2021-2022 academic year:

  • Guarantee daily interventions for literacy and math grades K-8.
  • Identify current practices at secondary that fit into an Scientific Research Based Interventions (SRBI) system.
  • Develop a 3 year plan to achieve full implementation of SRBI at the secondary level
  • Write standard treatment protocols (STPs) for all skill areas of literacy and math where students typically get “stuck” and need 2 tier interventions.
  • Increase staffing.
  • Collaborate with math and literacy specialists to ensure 85% of students have met tier 1.
  • Increase literacy intervention this year K-10 as opposed to K-4, 7-10

With an overall expectation for the programs to continue in summer 2022, the BOE, HPS faculty, parents and children can look forward to another fun summer and new improvements.

View the BOE’s website on upcoming meetings and more.

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