LCS to offer year-round program at the middle school level

LAPEER, Michigan — Starting with the 2013-14 school year, Lapeer Community Schools will offer the year-round calendar, on a voluntary basis, to students at the middle school level. The program will be housed at Rolland-Warner Middle School and will be open to all LCS students in grades 6-8. The year-round, or balanced academic calendar, has a shorter summer with more frequent breaks in order to diminish the “summer slide” in student retention.

In many academic studies, the year-round calendar has shown to provide a benefit to students at all levels, but most significantly among struggling and economically disadvantaged students. Students attend the same amount of school days as the traditional calendar, have access to the same curriculum, and are still able to participate in sports, music and enrichment. Students also have the option of taking their vacations as normal or getting support (Intersessions) during off weeks. Intersessions are theme or project-based learning experiences with certified teachers in the classroom.

Back in August, LCS opened its newly-repurposed Turrill Elementary facility as a year-round elementary school, and the reviews from students and parents have been very positive. Since the fall, the District’s Middle School task force has explored ways to extend the option at the middle school level. Their work included an interest survey sent to all parents of students in grades K-7.

“The benefits of the year-round calendar are numerous,” said LCS Superintendent Matt Wandrie. “Even so, we were a little surprised by the level of interest from parents who didn’t have students currently at Turrill. Clearly there’s a lot of positive feedback being shared in our community about the year-round program, and we are pleased to be able to offer this choice to families.”

Parents who want to learn more about this new option are invited to attend the Year-Round Middle School Parent Night at 6 p.m. on April 9 at Rolland-Warner, 3145 W. Genesee St., Lapeer.

For more information, contact Rolland-Warner at (810) 538-2334.

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