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Elementary

The Division of Title I and Early Childhood Programs and Services (DTECPS) partners with other MCPS offices and community organizations to provide a variety of summer programs that are free of charge to students enrolled in Title I schools. Extended Learning Opportunities Summer Adventures in Learning (ELO SAIL) is offered to all incoming kindergarten, first, and second grade students who are enrolled in Title I schools, including students who receive ESOL services. Each Title I school is allocated one ESOL teacher position to support the language needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) during ELO SAIL. School leaders may choose to customize the position by using the ESOL teacher to provide language instruction aligned with the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards in a plug-in, pull-out, or co-teaching model based on the academic language needs of their students, or to implement evidence-based interventions that support identified ESOL students with literacy.

DTECPS collaborates with the Elementary Integrated Curriculum (EIC) Team to ensure that instruction in the summer is aligned with key curricular messages for teaching and learning. A five-week curriculum preview model is implemented in all grade levels in literacy and mathematics to allow for frontloading and to give students the opportunity to interact with content, concepts, and vocabulary that set them up for success at the start of the school year. Well-rounded curricular areas such as science, technology, physical literacy, and fine arts are included to promote student discourse, critical thinking, and mindfulness. ESOL instruction is focused on providing ELLs with a head start on learning the academic language they will need in marking period one of the upcoming school year. ESOL instruction is guided by the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) standards and language objectives that facilitate learning of the content objectives.

Prior to the start of ELO SAIL, all teachers receive professional learning centered on increasing content knowledge, as well as the level of access, engagement, rigor, and depth of instruction across content areas. Professional learning includes how to authentically blend content instruction and language development across content areas in order to advance ESOL student achievement. Time for collaborative planning between the grade level teachers and ESOL teachers is built into the ELO SAIL day to facilitate efforts to plan differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students including ELLs. Student progress is monitored through a pre- and post- assessment in literacy and mathematics, as well as through the continuous collection of formative assessment data. ESOL teachers monitor the progress of students with academic language through the use of a variety of formative assessments. During the summer of 2018, 3,802 students were enrolled in ELO SAIL, 2,330 of which were students receiving ESOL services.

Head Start and Prekindergarten summer programs are offered to selected rising kindergarteners who are enrolled in non-Title I schools. The curriculum that is utilized during the summer is designed to promote language and literacy-rich learning experiences for all students using hands-on and engaging materials. It includes instruction in literacy, mathematics, science, creative time, movement, music, and enriching field trip experiences. Teachers are provided professional learning on curriculum and assessment resources that are used to support individualized instruction for students. Teachers also provide family resources in English and Spanish to support families in helping their children to progress with individual goals. There were 175 students enrolled in Head Start and Prekindergarten programs during the summer of 2018, including 94 ELLs.

The Montgomery County Council, the Norman R. Rales and Ruth Rales Foundation, and Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) partner with MCPS to provide a summer academic enrichment program to eligible rising Grades 3, 4 and 5 students in Title I schools who show academic need in the areas of literacy and mathematics. Through small group instruction, the program implements research-based curricula in the areas of literacy and mathematics, measuring student progress using a computer adaptive assessment. Programming also offers daily rotations through hands-on enrichment activities, with most Friday schedules offering educational field trips. Professional learning is provided to all BELL staff prior to the start of the program.

An ELL specialist is assigned to each BELL site to support summer program staff to meet the needs of ELLs who participate in the BELL program. The ELL specialists provide the following supports:

• Support Summer Program staff in implementation of differentiated literacy curricula and activities aligned to the academic Common Core State Standards with suggestions for how to support ELL BELL students;
• Support Summer Program staff in utilization of formal assessment data to refine and adapt curriculum that inform instructional practices for ELL BELL students;
• Facilitate the integration of ELL teaching strategies in all regular education activities and provide constructive feedback to academic teachers regarding instruction in reading, writing, language development, and other curricular areas;
• Provide instructional scaffolding techniques and differentiated reading instruction methods that best serve ELL BELL students;
• Research, teach, and model best practices used to address the needs of ELL BELL students who struggle with reading and writing due to language differences;
• Work in conjunction with Instructional Coaches to identify ELL BELL students who need significant remediation;
• Work collaboratively with academic teachers in recognizing and responding to the multiple needs of diverse learners;
• Provide direct, targeted, and effective instructional strategies in small group or pullout settings for ELL BELL students;
• Assist in the development of daily engaging lesson plans aligned to specific learning objectives and aligned with effective ELL instructional strategies;
• Model relevant, engaging, and rigorous lessons utilizing a variety of ELL instructional strategies;
• Disaggregate and analyze assessment data to target instruction, enhance student learning, and inform teacher practice;
• Promote cultural and linguistic awareness in the classroom and the Summer Program community; and
• Provide ongoing staff development as is necessary and/or requested on second language acquisition and acculturation processes, sheltered instruction, the latest research, and most effective practices in teaching ELL BELL students.

During the summer of 2018, 1,903 students participated in the BELL program, 1,120 of which were students receiving ESOL services.

Secondary

The Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs offers a variety of summer school options for ESOL  and other MCPS students that are performing on or below grade level for the 2019–2020 school year. These offerings include ESOL courses, content courses, and courses for older ESOL students enrolled in the Career Readiness Education Academy (CREA) program.

The ESOL and CREA course options are funded by the Title III grant and are available to ESOL students enrolled in high schools to provide instruction to develop their language and/or career readiness skills. The content course offerings are funded via the local budget and are available to ESOL students and other MCPS high school students in need of additional supports via the Regional High School program.

MCPS students will also have access to innovative approaches to learning using technology. The summer Online Pathway to Graduation program provides an opportunity for students entering Grades 9–12 in the 2019–2020 school year to earn recovery or original credit by participating in blended learning experiences in the following courses:  Algebra 1; Algebra 2; Biology; English 9–12; Environmental Science; Geometry; Modern World History; Physical Science; Precalculus; Quantitative Literacy; Statistics and Math Modeling A; and U.S. History. 

MCPS will offer rising sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students a chance to explore career interests at the 2019 Career Readiness Summer Camps.   The camps provide students the opportunity to observe skilled and professional careers, match their career goals and interest with programs offered in high school, and engage in relevant hands-on learning experiences.   The half day, week-long camps will take place June 24–28, 2019, at Gaithersburg High School and July 8–12, 2019, at Thomas Edison High School of Technology.

See attachment for more detailed information about summer program offerings.