White Plains summer programs help students build skills, confidence and momentum for the school year ahead

While many students are enjoying summer break, hundreds of White Plains City School District scholars are spending part of their vacation building skills, preparing for Regents exams, exploring civic engagement and preparing for college.

Spread across White Plains High School, the summer programs serve about 600 middle and high school students through a wide array of opportunities designed to help them succeed, according to Assistant Principal Sara Hall, who serves as the summer principal.

The traditional middle school program – which runs three weeks from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. – focuses on English language arts and math. Students are identified through various data points, including class grades, state assessments and academic growth assessments such as NWEA's Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). 

"It's really giving them the prerequisite skills to be successful in the following school year," Ms. Hall said Wednesday morning.

Across the building, classrooms reflected that goal. Students solved math problems, filled notebooks with writing, participated in lively discussions and collaborated with classmates under the guidance of the teachers.

The district also offers an innovative Seal of Civic Readiness summer program for seventh- and eighth-grade students. Over five weeks, participants investigate real issues affecting their community, hear from guest speakers and eventually present their findings during a symposium.

"This year, we also have a student who is like a mentor to the young scholars," Ms. Hall said. "He's a Civic Seal student here at the high school, volunteering his time to support our future scholars ... he's spending his summer with us to support our incoming kids and earning their points towards their seal, which is really exciting."

Longtime volunteer Amy Geiger, a WPHS graduate, met with students in the Media Center – the summer school hub -- to explain how community service can become an integral part of their high school experience. Drawing on years of volunteer work, she encouraged students to see service opportunities all around them.

"Community service is all sorts of things. It's not just down a narrow path," Ms. Geiger told students. "The way I describe it is fundamentally, you have a home community. You have a school community. You might have a church or a temple community...and you help them out."

At the high school level, students participate in traditional summer school for credit recovery and Regents preparation, giving them another opportunity to master coursework and continue progressing toward graduation.

Additional programs support English language learners through instruction in English language arts, health education and workshops focused on reading, speaking, listening and critical thinking.

Ms. Hall said the district also provides unique enrichment opportunities beyond traditional summer coursework. 

Rising juniors recently completed a four-day college essay writing institute, where many finished polished drafts of their college essays, while another group will soon begin a College Bound Summer Institute to start working on college applications with school counselors.

In one classroom, teacher Jennifer Stein spoke to incoming freshmen about perseverance, self-confidence and believing in themselves as they prepare for the transition to high school.

"Our goal is really to give our kids more confidence before they come into the next grade," Ms. Hall said. "We do that through giving them their skills, but we try and find things that are engaging for the kids."

Ms. Hall said building students' confidence is just as important as strengthening their academic foundation.

"(Ms. Stein) wants to make sure she's building up their confidence," Ms. Hall said. "Kids in school don't always have a ton of confidence and our job is to really make sure that we let them know that they can do it."

That growing confidence has become increasingly visible in classrooms over the past several summers.

"Our Seal kids are very excited," Ms. Hall said. "Our kids who are here for your traditional summer schools, not as excited. But I will say they're engaged in their classes."

She has watched that engagement steadily improve since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I'm pleasantly surprised because as I'm walking into the classrooms, the kids are really engaged in their learning," Ms. Hall said. "Every year since COVID, it's gotten better and better...I'm always happy to see the level of engagement increase each year."

The district has also made practical improvements that help students attend consistently. 

Breakfast and lunch are served daily, and transportation is available from centralized pickup locations, helping more students attend consistently. Ms. Hall said attendance increased substantially after transportation became available, with flexible bus schedules allowing students attending one, two or three class periods to travel easily to and from school.

Behind the scenes, operating a summer program serving hundreds of students requires months of preparation. 

Ms. Hall, who has been involved with White Plains summer school since 2012, begins planning with her administrative team in February. Each year, staff members review feedback and refine the program to make it even stronger.

"You know what? Year after year, we tweak things...making sure that it's better for our students and our staff. One thing I really like to do is take the feedback from our staff. They're on the front lines with their kids,” she said, adding: "Year after year, it gets better and better.

As students wrote, solved equations and discussed ideas, the district's summer programs were doing exactly what they were designed to do: helping the scholars return in September with stronger skills, greater confidence and momentum for the upcoming year.