(Rock Island, IL) This is the second year of Rock Solid which targets students are at least 2 to 3 grade levels behind in math and reading. According to coordinator, Kristin Allen, the program will run for two weeks, 3 hours a day. Allen says before Rock Solid there was nothing in place to formally support at-risk students in the transition from 8th to 9th grade. Last year, 30 students attended; this year there will be 42. The program is funded through Lights on for Learning 21st Century grant.
The program is team taught by junior high and high school teachers and is held at the high school. The lessons are designed to address the skill areas that are of concern, but they also blend in important transitional skills.
One example of a math lesson is where students look at various (anonymous) students' attendance patterns and grades. They analyze the impact of attending/not attending school on grades outcomes utilizing various math skills. An example of a reading lesson is the students will go on a scavenger hunt around the building where students must read about various important locations in the building. They must determine the main ideas and supporting details of the reading passages.
The media is invited to attend any of the summer school sessions and talk to students and teachers about their approach to getting freshmen up to speed before the fall session starts.