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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Summer School To Cost More, But It’ll ‘Be Fun’

Jeanette White And Amy Scribner S Staff writer

A revamped Spokane summer school will cost parents more this year, and the new magnet school for gifted students may be expanded.

Spokane School District 81 board members approved a summer school tuition hike of $20 to $30 per student Wednesday night.

Elementary school students will see the biggest jump, which will pay for a new program that dishes out “a spoonful of sugar” with lessons, said administrator Laurie Dolan.

“Summer school will be fun - that’s the goal,” said Dolan. “We haven’t felt the elementary program has been exciting enough for the kids.”

Until this year, the program has been largely an extension of regular classroom work.

Now, students in kindergarten through sixth grade will choose from classes called “Time Warp” (reading), “Pre+Med” (science) and “Lightspeed” (mathematics).

Science students will grow bacteria, visit a hospital, even set a broken bone - a chicken bone, anyway.

Mathematics students will take imaginary voyages from South America to Alaska, racing against the wind and river currents to learn math concepts.

All that will cost more, said Ruth Bragg, summer school coordinator. Educators will be asking businesses for about $16,000 in contributions needed to break even, she said.

New tuition rates are $150 for elementary students, $80 for middle school students and $170 for high school students. Kids enrolling in CAST, a summer fine arts program, will pay $180.

Middle school and high school curriculum won’t change much. The tuition increases will help those programs break even, Dolan said.

Last year, about 5,200 students attended District 81 summer sessions, including athletic programs.

Board members also heard more about a proposal to expand the district’s gifted magnet program to include seventh-graders.

The Libby Center’s Odyssey program is a full-time classroom for fifth- and sixth-graders from throughout the district.

Still in its maiden year, Odyssey awaits district approval to be continued. But educators already are looking to add a seventh-grade class by next fall.

“It is a viable option if there’s enough interest,” said Libby Center Director Deborah Johnson. “The most important piece will be if we have that support from families.”

The district would look for at least 25 interested families to add a seventh-grade class.

A survey of current Odyssey parents and students has shown a mixed reaction to the idea of adding seventh-graders, Johnson said.

“I’d say it’s about half and half,” she said.

Some parents said their students are ready to move back into regular middle school, to be with friends and take advantage of extracurricular activities, Johnson said.

This mirrors concerns voiced by parents a year ago when surveyed about a possible gifted program. About half gave thumbs-down to the idea at the time.

Some said their students would be better off remaining in a mainstream classroom. Others worried they’d have difficulty carpooling to and from Libby Center.

The district doesn’t provide transportation for Odyssey students.

If the seventh-grade expansion is approved, two Libby Center classrooms likely will be renovated, said Johnson.

The board probably will vote on the expansion within a month, said district spokeswoman Terren Roloff.

To find out about summer school schedules and enrollment, call 358-7249.

, DataTimes