For any students needing a little extra help this summer, the Concordia Parish School District is offering a variety of summer school options to boost student performance.

In summer school classes, students are in smaller classes with teachers who know their deficiencies and can work more one-on-one. Student to teacher ratio is about 15 to 1 or even 12 to 1 in some cases, giving students more individualized attention.

Summer school is important &uot;because the success of students in summer school has a direct bearing on district performance scores,&uot; said Fred Butcher, director of academics. But not only that, passing the LEAP test means promoting students to the next grade.

For all but Ferriday Lower Elementary, summer school in Concordia Parish starts June 3; Ferriday Lower Elementary’s summer school will start June 1.

There are different components of summer school in Concordia Parish schools.

High-stakes testing

Some students will attend summer school for LEAP or GEE21 remediation. LEAP students will attend classes from June 3 to July 1 and retake their tests July 6. This summer school session will include not only fourth and eighth graders who did not pass the LEAP test in March but also third and seventh grade students who need Title I remediation, according Butcher.

&uot;We feel fairly certain if a child attends summer school for high-stakes testing and work with teachers, the students’ success rate is high,&uot; Butcher said.

Transportation will be provided to testing remediation and these courses are free.

July 6 will be math and science LEAP testing and July 7 will be English/language arts and social studies. July 9 is for any makeup tests.

Butcher said parents should receive a letter in the mail with the information.

High school students who need remediation on the GEE21 will attend summer school from June 10 to June 30, Monday through Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. Parents must provide this transportation.

All high school students will attend classes at Ferriday High School.

The math and science retesting of the GEE21 will be July 6 and English/language arts on the 7th and 8th. July 9 will be used for makeup testing.

Butcher said the district hopes for continued success in summer school, like they have had in the past, with cooperation from parents, teachers and students.

Last year’s summer testing was a big success.

Summer school classes

Students also can attend summer school for regular deficiencies in classes. Students in grades four through high school must sign up before 3 p.m. on May 27 for any courses they want to take during summer school. Each student can only take one credit per summer. Butcher said classes for summer school will be decided by May 28 and parents will be notified. A minimum of 15 students must sign up for the course for it to be offered.

Classes will be from June 1 to July 9 and a $75 deposit is required. Parents can pick up applications and pay deposits at each individual school in the parish. Each course costs $200.

For students in grades four through eight, the cost per course is $125.

Ferriday Lower Elementary

For the fourth year at Ferriday Lower, Title I funding pays for summer school for any students who need the extra reinforcement and have deficiencies in math and reading. The school decided to provide the service of free summer school through its school improvement plan.

Summer school will &uot;give them the practice they need so hopefully they can achieve next year,&uot; said Principal Loretta Peterman.

Students targeted through test scores, Diagnostic Reading Assessment scores and teacher referrals will attend summer school with parents’ permission.

Classes are from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday with breakfast, lunch and transportation provided.

The first week, however, will be from June 1 to June 4 because of Memorial Day on May 31.

The students will be in small classes of about eight students per teacher and will receive one-on-one instruction.

Summer school will be &uot;the extra push (the students) need to be where they need to be,&uot; Peterman said.