Westfield's Extended School Year Program Strengthens Academic Skills

The Westfield Public School’s Extended School Year Program for pre-school through high school students has come to a close. The five-week program is designed for targeted students with special needs. In addition to fulfilling a state mandate intended for all public schools, Westfield’s program focuses on maintaining and strengthening students’ academic skills to prepare them for the new school year. 

According to Michael Weissman, Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Personnel Services, “The in-district program continues to save us hundreds of thousands of dollars, since we would otherwise be required to find out-of-district facilities for these students. For the most part, our own faculty and related service providers work with the children in the summer, resulting in consistency and efficiency all year round.”

This summer the program enrolled 113 students. Eleven classrooms were utilized at for children in pre-school through fifth grades.  was the location for three classes of students in grades six or higher. 

“Students were selected to the program based on a regression recoupment model,” stated Andrea Lo, Supervisor of Special Services PreK-12 for the Westfield Public Schools.  She explained that without the program, the targeted students would have difficulty recovering what they learned in the 2011-2012 school year within a reasonable time. 

“Our goal is to prevent regression so the students are ready for September,” noted Lo. “During the summer, we can help these children maintain and even strengthen their skills to the point where teachers often notice the students’ academic growth when they return in the fall.”

“I am also pleased to see growth from one summer to the next, which is wonderful,” added Lo.

The program, which is in its tenth year in Westfield, ran Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with specialists available in Speech, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Behavior/Social Skills, along with special education teachers and paraprofessionals.