By Ariane Lange

The summer program finished its first season after extensive changes to policy and curriculum.

“Because of the newness of the summer programs this year [enrollment was] slightly down from our previous totals,” Summer Program Director David Coombs said. 
Coombs said he was “very pleased” with the alterations.

Of the 17 academic and travel courses offered, only a French I workshop and a bookbinding class were not able to proceed due to insufficient enrollment.

The changes to the organization of summer program included splitting up the classes into two sections, one for sports and one for academics and trips and having curriculum established by administrators instead of choosing courses based on the faculty’s interest in teaching them.

The program started after the end of the public school year.

Coombs was happy with beginning classes after public schools let out for summer.
“Before this, we would always get concerned phone calls from public school parents saying they wanted their children to attend such good classes taught by such good teachers, but the classes started before their child’s school ended.”

There were 484 students enrolled in the program this year, down from 561 last year.
Strictly academic classes had anywhere from four to 15 members.For the second year running, about 40 percent of the enrollees in the summer program were from other schools.

No teachers from other schools were hired, although the Summer Office was prepared to do so.

The Hot Shots! Summer Video Workshop, a new curricular addition taught by Cheri Gaulke, was in such demand that some people had to be turned away.

Geometry, another new class, also met with success.

The class, offered for credit, is designed for incoming 10th graders who have not taken geometry to progress to Algebra II sophomore year.