From the South Orange-Maplewood School District:
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. – For many young people, summer is a time to gain important experience. This summer, dozens of Maplewood Middle School (MMS) students are doing exactly that with the intention of preparing for academic success in the next school year.
More than 60 students who just completed grades six through eight are participating in the MMS Summer Experience, a three-and-a-half-week program held at Seth Boyden Elementary School aimed at helping students hone their academic skills in particular subject areas.
Under the leadership of MMS Principal Dara Gronau and MMS Science Teacher Alyssa Schlatmann, the Summer Experience program is staffed by teachers in all core subject areas, as well as teachers of physical education, art, and Spanish. That allows students to choose which subject areas will be their focus during the program.
Science Teacher Alyssa Schlattmann explains a kite-building project to her MMS Summer Experience program. Schlattman is the leader of the program.
Before the pandemic shutdown, programs like the MMS Summer Experience and the Rising Stars program for students rising in grades 1-6 were made available to those students who were found to be needing academic reinforcement. Today, the programs are open to any MMS and Seth Boyden family who wants to enroll their child.
To Principal Gronau, opening the summer programs to all of the MMS families is a matter of being responsive to practical reality.
“All students need additional support. They always have,” Gronau said. “The demand is always there for keeping kids engaged.”
Dr. Ronald Taylor, Superintendent of the School District of South Orange & Maplewood, agreed.
“Making these summer programs available to our families at no additional cost to them is one of the ways the District is working to cultivate greater equity when it comes to opportunities for academic success,” said Taylor. “These students are getting the individualized instruction they need in the subject areas they are most interested in achieving greater success. I greatly appreciate the dedication of our staff who make these programs possible.”
Math Teacher Lorraine Sudol works with a student participant in the MMS Summer Experience program.
Last week, Schlatmann, the MMS Summer Experience leader and science teacher, was just outside of classroom 210 working with a group of students who were brushing up on their use of the scientific method. Their experiment involved flying paper airplanes down the hallway – some with flaps, some without – and measuring the distance the planes flew as part of their data collection.
This week, Schlatmann is working with her students to build kites. Test flights with the kites will happen soon, with students recording flight data again.
Each day in the Summer Experience program begins with the students doing community-building exercises. Students are also able to participate in art and physical education activities.
“There is consistency in every day,” said Schatmann. “All of the students have access to academic classes as they participate in our school/camp hybrid.”
A group of rising six to eighth-graders worked with math teachers Lorraine Sudol and Megan Mitola in completing an online assessment of their math skills.
It is an essential part of using the summer to improve math skills, Sudol said. She likens learning math to building a brick wall. If there are bricks missing on the lower levels, the wall will fall.
Each student’s assessment shows where they are missing “bricks.” Sudol and Mitola can then work with the students during the course of the program.
“We’ve got to fix those bricks,” said Sudol, who has been teaching in the District since 2000.
Gronau, the MMS principal, made note of Sudol and Mitola’s enthusiasm as she stopped by their classroom.
“That’s what makes a Summer Experience successful,” she said. “They have to want to be here.”
Math Teacher Megan Mitola helps a student complete an assessment that will focus their efforts to improve the student’s math skills.
