Summer school makes the grade in D86

"Why are you willing to spend time on something you're not getting credit for?"

The question was posed to rising Hinsdale Central junior Asha Sarai, a student in last week's AP History Writing Workshop, by Alex Mayster, executive director of communications for Hinsdale High School District 86.

Sarai had a ready response.

"I obviously do care about my academic success," she said, citing the summer slide that can happen. "It's a great way to get back in the mindset of learning and just enhance my experience as a student in the coming years."

The interview was part of video Mayster and a film crew were producing on the district's summer school program, hosted this year at Hinsdale South High School.

Owens, a Central social studies teacher, led the three-day workshop with about 20 students enrolled. She said the non-credit offering is designed to provide tools to rising sophomores and juniors for performing well in their first AP class.

"The idea is to give them examples of writing and multiple choice examples so that when they're seeing these types of questions and these types of essays for the first time, they have some basis of comparison," Owens told Mayster. "They're really getting a lot of information in a really short amount of time that they can reference.

"It's not like high time commitment, high pressure, high stress. It's more for fun," Owens later told The Hinsdalean.

In class Owens showed students images representing significant 20th-century events and figures. She advised students jot down pertinent information like dates, location and ensuing developments in shorthand form that could then be expanded in an essay.

"Do not write in complete sentences for now," she said leading into a six-minute note-taking exercise. "Very raw. Just sort of try it. You learn a little bit better

by trying and doing."

Back in the South library where Mayster conducted his interviews, South drivers ed teacher Nathan Wolkow gave a video interview on the scheduling advantages of getting instruction in the summer versus the school year.

"The summer is a more condensed version. During the semester they spend a whole semester in drivers ed, whereas in the summer they're doing a month-and-a-half to two-month section. The same requirements are being met," Wolkow said.

Summer school co-director Sue Grady said drivers ed is one of the most popular courses, with nearly 90 students signed up.

"The Geometry Accelerated program is always highly attended as well," Grady related. "Taking those classes in summer allow students to open up time in their regular schedules for other interests."

That was rising sophomore and Geometry Accelerated student Christian Jaimes' motivation for signing up. The aspiring engineer wants to be on track to take AP Calculus as a senior.

"I thought it would be good to just knock out geometry over the summer," Jaimes told Mayster, praising teacher Lexi Fosco. "I've gotten all the material very quickly."

Fosco, who teaches at South, said the course covers in six weeks what normally takes a full school year.

"By taking geometry over the summer, (students) can then go into Algebra II their sophomore year, junior year Pre-calculus and then senior year typically AP Calculus," she explained.

Most of her underclassmen already have their sights set on a STEM-related career, Fosco noted, and their Algebra I teacher has often recommended them for the accelerated opportunity

Grady and co-director Jordan Stob - both Central English teachers - have coordinated summer school in the district for several years. Grady is proud of the menu of classes available, such as Science Inquiry and Research (or SIR) I, II and III.

"It takes a lot of discipline from the students," she remarked, particularly rising freshmen in SIR I who have yet to take a high school class. "They're engaging in this high-level academic science course. I think that really sets us apart."

Pulling together the six-week, two-session endeavor begins in November with constructing a program of studies, Grady said, and requires considerable multi-tasking.

"In addition to hiring, we also do payroll, we also do all the scheduling, we're the deans, we do the counseling," she enumerated, grateful that she and Stob share the responsibilities. "It's kind of a big job. It's a little too much for just one person. On June 3 we're like, 'Oh, we're basically done!' "

Grady knows it's an important facet of the high school experience for many in the district.

"It's just really nice for kids and families to be able to get some of those credits out of the way," she said, "For students that come a solid six weeks for five hours a day, it takes some dedication. You can only miss two days."

Mayster said the summer school video will be the first of a series "that puts kids and teachers in the forefront."

Heading back to AP History Writing Workshop after their interview, Sarai and Central classmate Ary Bansal said they're glad to have incorporated school into their summer

"I had to beg my parents to do it," revealed Sarai, whose other option was tennis camp.

Bansal said he's not missing out on fun with friends.

"They're probably still sleeping," he quipped.