Summer is here. No more school…well, almost. Next thing on the agenda is the Clovis Municipal Schools’ Summer Academy.
Our version of summer school, the CMS Summer Academy will be held at Cameo Elementary this year from Monday through June 30, meeting on Monday through Thursday of each week. The shortened day runs from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., with breakfast and lunch served, as it is during the regular school year.
Cynthia Flores-Gonzales, the Lincoln Jackson Family Center Coordinator, will serve as the Summer Academy principal and has worked with kids of all ages for a number of years.
“We currently have 239 students enrolled in the Summer Academy, with a total staff of 45 members, 21 of whom are classroom teachers,” she said.
Teachers and principals of the students’ regular schools (where they attend during the regular school year) have recommended the students who are attending the Summer Academy. They are students who are nearing proficiency in reading and/or math.
“We target those kids to help them so they don’t fall further behind during the summer. Academics are key, but we also want it to be fun; sometimes fun enough that the kids don’t realize they’re learning,” said Flores-Gonzales, describing some of the activities that are planned.
Buses run from each elementary school to bring the kids from their regular school to Cameo during the summer session, so it remains convenient for parents to get the kids to the Summer Academy; students are also bussed from the Ranchvale area near Cannon Air Force Base.
The Summer Academy will have two computer labs available running the SuccessMaker software that is used during the regular school year.
In addition to classroom instruction, this allows the teachers to continue providing precisely targeted help for the individual students.
Flores-Gonzales continued: “We are having better conversations with parents, and they seem committed to the help we’re offering. It’s so important that there is strong collaboration between the schools and parents and that we carefully follow the students’ academic improvement documentation from their regular school.”
Flores-Gonzales spends the regular school year at Lincoln Jackson Family Center as site coordinator. LJFC houses all of the Family Literacy Programs, serving as a learning center for children and adults. From the Parents As Teachers program (http://www.parentsasteachers.org/) to the Family Leadership Institute (http://www.clovis-schools.org/lincolnjackson/index.html), part of the well-established pre-school with certified teachers and educational assistants, to the GED, ESL and evening computer classes for parents, a lot is happening at LJFC.
For more information on either the Summer Academy or LJFC please contact Cynthia Flores-Gonzales at Cameo Elementary at 769-4440 through the end of June; after that, she can be reached at Lincoln Jackson Family Center at 769-4460; or, call the Clovis Schools’ Central Office at 769-4300.
