Dear Parents/Guardians:
The Broadalbin-Perth Central School District is proud to be offering an exciting alternative to summer school this July! In years past, our summer school was designed to provide remedial support to our students in each grade. This year’s plan is to provide all students an opportunity to experience the academic and enrichment opportunities provided by the newly created Broadalbin-Perth Elementary Summer Academy!
The goal of our Summer Academy is to provide students and families with a free, well-rounded academic experience. While we will continue to provide instruction in both ELA and math, we have added an enrichment component to enhance the opportunities we provide in an effort to keep students enthusiastic about learning and maintain their academic momentum for their return to school in September. To make this happen, we have reimagined what a summer academic experience should look like!
Historically, our summer school has run two hours a day, five days a week, for four weeks during the summer and it was targeted toward our neediest learners. The Summer Academy, however, is free for all students and will be running on a different schedule. Starting Monday, July 11 and wrapping up on Thursday, August 4, the Summer Academy will be a four hour program (8am-12pm), four days a week, for four weeks. We are hoping that longer learning time, coupled with the shorter work week will provide students and educators more freedom to explore different academic adventures while still leaving plenty of time for family fun this summer! Developing a new program like the Summer Academy is both fun and challenging. A lot of planning is going into making this opportunity worthwhile for children. Now we need the kids!
We have witnessed a drastic decline in our summer school enrollment over the years. This was probably the single most important reason to recreate BP students’ summer experience. This year, the Broadalbin-Perth PTO has come to the rescue! After learning of the district’s plan for a Summer Academy, the PTO graciously offered to cover the necessary transportation expenses! Thanks to BP’s PTO, all students will be offered a bus ride to and from school at the start (8 am) and end (12 pm) of the program each day. We hope providing this convenience will bring more students to the Academy.
This is also a good time to note that the Summer Academy will not be a strain on the district’s budget as it qualifies for the HFM BOCES co-service program and therefore a majority of the cost will be reimbursed. This does not, however, include transportation which is what makes the generosity of the PTO so important. Much more information on the program will be distributed over the next few weeks and parents/guardians are encouraged to contact your child’s principal for more information or with any questions you may have. In the meantime, we would like to gauge the community’s interest in the Summer Academy and ask that you complete and return the form on the back of this letter indicating your intention to participate.
The end of another great school year is close at hand, but Summer Academy is an opportunity to keep your skills sharp and your sights set on next year.
Please download the form and return it to your school’s office to secure your spot.
Sincerely,
Daniel J. Casey, Intermediate School principal
Bradley Strait, TLC principal