The Crook County School District has capped enrollment for elementary summer school due to high demand, officials said Monday.
Enrollment opened for the program in early April and it filled up within a few weeks.
The district expects the program to serve 630 students.
“This is absolutely incredible. We anticipated at least a few hundred students, but the numbers exceeded our expectations,” said Summer School Administrator Michelle Zistel. “The demand is so great, we’ve had to cap enrollment to match the number of staff members we have available.”
The elementary Summer Blast program will be held at Barnes Butte Elementary School and include a variety of fun and engaging activities that will also be educational.
Students will work on improving reading, writing, and math skills that are focused on STEM education, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Classes happen three days a week from June 29th through July 29th.
“Every week we’ll have a science-based theme with a focus on chemistry, biology, physics, or engineering,” said Activities Director Jonathan Oelkers. “We want this program to feel like a true summer camp, so we’ll start the day with a tribal challenge and end with tribal council to build unity and community with the student tribes,”
Plans are still being developed for summer school programs at Crook County Middle School and Crook County High School. Enrollment for those programs will open up in early May.
Superintendent Dr. Sara Johnson said summer school became a priority for district leaders and the school board to regain lost educational opportunities during COVID-19 and create additional face-to-face time with teachers and staff.
The goal is to ensure students are caught up by next school year.
“The basics of reading, writing, math, and vocabulary remain key to future success for our students, so we reached out to our staff who came up with some amazing ideas to both recapture learning and make it a fun and memorable experience for students,” Johnson said.
Nutrition Services will provide breakfast and lunch for students each day, and families requiring transportation for summer school are asked to contact the district’s transportation department and sign up for bus service.
CCSD Transportation Department
(541) 447-7789
