For Immediate Release                                                                        Contact Cordell Jordan

July 18, 2006                                                                                        405.587.0232

A Short Summer Break Ends for some OKCPS Elementary Students

Oklahoma City – After seven weeks of summer break, students at three district elementary schools are back in class Wednesday, July 19. Horace Mann Elementary, 1105 NW 45 Street, Sequoyah, 2400 NW 36 Street and Westwood Elementary, 1701 Exchange Avenue are on a Continuous Learning calendar which means students have a three week break after each nine-week session and a shortened summer vacation. This is the sixth year the continuous learning system has been in place.

“When we first implemented this system in 2000, we noticed our school population was changing and we needed more continuity in what we teach in our classrooms,” says DeAnn Davis, Executive director of Student Performance . “We decided the continuous learning system would give our students who are learning English as a second language more time immersed in the language at school. Five years later, we see students are able to pick up immediately when they came back from a shorter summer.”

The system has shown proven success at all three schools has with an increase in state test scores each year, especially in math and reading.

“We find there is more reading going on, because many of our students use their smaller breaks to continue their learning at home and bring what they have read and learned back to school with them,” said Montie Koehn, Principal at Sequoyah. “We have increased attendance rates and student achievement.”

A school calendar for continuous learning can be found on the district’s website at www.okcps.org. Other schools in the Oklahoma City District begin classes on Monday, August 21.                                             

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