It’s hard to believe we’re already wrapping up another Summer School program! This summer, we introduced several new components, and the response from both students and tutors has been overwhelmingly positive.
While reading continues to be the heart of our program, we placed a greater emphasis on making learning engaging through hands-on, multisensory, and movement-based activities. 
One of our biggest additions was a dedicated fluency block, which gave students extra time to develop the skills needed to become confident, successful readers. Each day began with a fluency warm-up focused on a specific reading skill before students rotated through stations where they read decodable texts aligned to their phonics instruction, practiced reading and spelling sight words using multisensory techniques, and reinforced new phonics concepts through targeted activities. These additional opportunities allowed students to increase their reading practice while building the fluency that is essential for strong reading comprehension.
In math, students continued learning through the Bridges curriculum while also receiving targeted fluency practice with number recognition, addition and subtraction facts, and multiplication facts based on their individual needs. To extend learning beyond the classroom, students also participated in a daily STEM and science block where they designed and tested rockets, built catapults, explored the science behind rainbows, cooked s’mores in shoebox solar ovens, and completed many other hands-on investigations that encouraged problem-solving and critical thinking.
Students also enjoyed a daily Equipping Minds block, which quickly became a favorite part of the day. Through interactive games and activities, students strengthened important cognitive skills such as memory, attention, processing speed, and reasoning—skills that support success in reading, math, and overall learning.
Our related arts programming continued to be another highlight of the summer. Students had opportunities to weave, play musical instruments, plant gardens, prepare food, and explore creative writing, along with many other enriching experiences. 
Having our talented staff on campus to provide these opportunities has made a tremendous impact, and our students truly looked forward to this part of their day.
We are also incredibly grateful for our community partners. Thanks to Innovative Approaches to Literacy, students enjoyed weekly StoryWalks and a free book giveaway throughout the summer. StoryWalks transformed reading into an interactive experience by allowing students to walk through and engage with the stories before participating in comprehension activities connected to each book. Our older students also participated in a novel study, giving them the opportunity to dive deeper into literature through discussion, analysis, and critical thinking.
As we close out another summer, we are incredibly proud of the hard work our students have put forth and grateful for the dedication of our tutors, staff, and community partners. Together, they have helped create a summer filled with learning, growth, and memorable experiences that will continue to benefit our students long after summer school ends.
Join us for 2026 Summer School Graduation Ceremony July 17th at 1:00 PM EST on our livestream! Click here to join or find us on Facebook @hindmanschool
