Joplin summer schools go for gold as they combine learning and fun

Jun. 4—On Free Day Friday, second graders at Cecil Floyd Elementary School in Joplin took a summer school field trip to the San Diego Zoo.

It was a virtual tour.

When a student spotted a tiger or a turtle on the webcam, the whole table excitedly crowded around the computer to watch the safari action.

The field trip was part of the effort to make summer learning fun — the focus of summer school this year in the Joplin School District.

"The main goal is to keep the students learning," said Vickie Gilbert, summer school principal at Cecil Floyd Elementary. "Summer school is a great time to be able to do that but be able to do that through a fun, hands-on way. Sometimes during the school year, it's hard to do a lot of hands-on projects because the emphasis is on standards and getting them ready for the next grade. In summer, we have a little more flexibility to include field trips that may correlate some of the standards."

Summer school is also running at Irving and Dover Hill elementary schools, South Middle School and Joplin High School.

Gilbert said summer school attendance numbers are higher than last year; Cecil Floyd, Dover Hill and Irving are at about 400 students.

This summer session is continuing a program started last year. Camps give students an opportunity to learn a subject like computer science in depth, and older students even get to choose which camps they attend.

"It's learning through fun, lots of creativity and hands-on projects," Gilbert said. "Because the older students get a choice, they're a lot more excited to study what they want to learn."

With Summer Games taking place in Paris, the school has an Olympic theme for its summer session, "Go for Gold." Every Friday, there will be an assembly where each grade level forms a team for a competition. They'll be competing for the gold in their version of the Olympic games.

"I had to do a Walmart run ... for supplies and saw some parents who said their kids are so excited, that they came home ... and told them all about the camps," Gilbert said. "They're talking to their families, and that's what we wanted. We wanted them to be excited about learning."

Gilbert said that in the last few years, Joplin schools have worked to turn around the perception of summer school, from something remedial to a fun opportunity for learning. This includes events field trips, such as to the bowling alley and Creation Safari, and activities such as a water day and a snow cone day.

Summer school also eases transition to the next grade level; students are enrolled in the grade they'll attend in the fall.

"For your kiddos who are a little unsure of the upcoming grade, it's a really good thing for them, especially for fifth graders transitioning to sixth grade," Gilbert said. "We always encourage our fifth graders to sign up because they'll be in a whole new building and a whole new routine to get used to. It's a great opportunity to get a head start."

This is Rhiannon Medley's seventh year teaching summer school as an early literacy teacher. She's been a teacher for about 25 years.

Although she's nearing retirement, she's not sure if she's ready to leave teaching just yet. Medley said some days are more challenging than others, but ultimately she can find something positive every day.

"When I see students struggling, I feel like I am that lifeboat to help those kids," Medley said. "To me, teaching is about helping students feel successful and being a part of that."

Medley starts each summer school day greeting students. She then helps kindergarten students, leading groups for reading activities and practice. The rest of the time she's out and about in the building, assisting teachers.

She makes sure that kids are learning, but she is focused on keeping the experience fun as well.

"Their 25 minutes with me might not be the most fun part of their day, but I think they enjoy it because it's one-on-one time," Medley said. "We get to have conversations and get to know each other. Kids tell you everything, so I get lots of good stories about what they're doing in the summer."

Fifth grade student Stefan Gilmore was starting his second week of summer school at Cecil Floyd. He recently went bowling for a field trip with his class. He also completed a summer bucket list of activities and travels he has planned for the summer break, including going swimming, going to the park and traveling to places like Springfield, Branson and Fayetteville, Arkansas.

"It's really fun here," Gilmore said. "You get to go on more field trips than regular school, like six trips for summer school and two the whole year in regular school. You don't do as much work as you do during regular school."

In addition to meeting people from other schools that he normally wouldn't get to meet, Gilmore said summer school helps prepare him for the next school year. His favorite subject in school is math, and he gets to practice it with morning work and a math game with a clock.

"It's just basic stuff so that your brain isn't washed out when you go into actual school," Gilmore said. "It's more like a boost starter for your brain. It's fun and kids should try it out because you can learn more than just sitting at home and doing nothing."

Joplin summer school goes through June 27. Students can enroll at any time through joplinschools.org.