Elementary Summer Program brings animal and marine life lessons to life at Post Road School

From holding a black bear skull to discovering the marine life of Long Island Sound, White Plains elementary students immersed themselves in the wonders of the natural world Tuesday during the district’s Elementary Summer Program at Post Road School.

The program, which serves about 300 students in grades K-4, blends academic support with engaging, hand-on experiences designed to keep children learning throughout July.

“We try to make it more of an enrichment experience,” said Gary West, the district’s director of Fine Arts and Elementary Summer School principal. “We have a thematic curriculum that we use in each grade, but they’re all animal-themed, so we kind of have this animal theme going on throughout the whole building.”

The four-week, half-day program, which runs from July 6 through July 31, keeps classes intentionally small so students receive individualized attention in a focused environment free from the interruptions of a typical school day. Twenty-three teachers and 15 teaching assistants work with students from across the district’s elementary schools.

Each morning begins by bringing students together to build a sense of community.

Kindergarten and first-grade students gather in the auditorium, where Mr. West accompanies lively singalongs, including on guitar and piano, while teachers line the aisles to create an energetic start to the day.

Second-, third- and fourth-graders meet in the gym for a morning welcome, which on Tuesday included a brief talk about geckos from one of the students at the invitation from Assistant Principal Susannah Genty-Waksberg.

“It just wakes them up and gets their brains ready to run,” Mr. West, whose connection to the program stretches back more than 20 years, said with a smile.

He first served as a summer school music teacher before becoming assistant principal and eventually principal of the elementary summer program. His passion for the experience led him to request that overseeing summer school become part of his year-round responsibilities.

“I love it,” he said. “I’ve always been involved, and I really enjoy doing this program with these kids. The teachers are really incredible, and most of them come back from year to year. It’s just a really good community and a really nice staff to work with.”

Throughout the program, students reinforce literacy and other academic skills through engaging, animal-centered themes that come to life with special presentations from community partners.

On Tuesday, fourth-graders studying animal adaptations welcomed an educator from the Rye Nature Center, who explained how different species survive and protect themselves in the wild.

During the interactive presentation on the stage, children eagerly raised their hands to answer questions and were fascinated as they examined the skull of a black bear that was passed around the room.

Meanwhile, third-graders gathered in the media center for a presentation by Lillit Genovesi, Sea Grant New York’s outreach coordinator for the Long Island Sound Partnership, who shared information about marine life and helped the students connect their classroom studies with the local environment.

The special programs are among the enrichment opportunities that have become a hallmark of the district’s elementary summer program. Although it has been housed at several schools over the years, it has spent much of its recent history at Post Road School.