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Schools

Parkway South Summer School Program Offers Different Approach

Parkway South's summer school offers a different kind of teaching for struggling students.

Eric Ludlow, teacher, shows student Christian Hegerstroem how to use a soldering torch. Ludlow teaches drawing and ceramics during the regular  school year, but during the summer Ludlow gets the opportunity to show his students how to work with metals in his metalsmithing class.

The class is one of 34 classes offered by the Parkway South High School summer school program. The classes range from foods and culture in St. Louis, to history vs. hollywood.  The program, said Jim Gerker, coordinator of the summer school, is aimed at giving students "larger concepts to explore."

"It is very nontraditional," Gerker said. "It gives kids a lot more freedom and a lot more responsibility than the traditional high school."

Gerker said the program is based after the principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a movement which started in the 1980s to reform traditional schooling.

"What this is supposed to drive is a different way of teaching," Gerker said.

Students enrolled in the summer program typically enroll in a class they have to make up, such as algebra, history or English. In addition, they choose a class of their interest, these include game programming or a rap, rock and jazz class.

Not only students, but also the faculty, get to explore new topics.

"Summer school is a nice opportunity for us to give all these classes we wouldn't be able to have during the school year," Ludlow said. "Here we are able to limit the size. They have more time to work,  and they can get more in-depth into their work."

In the more traditional classes, the teachers are also encouraged to explore new methods.

"I encourage them (teachers) to take some risks and try some new things," Gerker said. "This is the time to try it."

Joe Rhodes, who teaches modern U.S. history, said during the summer he tries to be more laidback and "switch things up a bit." For example, at the end of the class, the students participate in a Supreme Court mock trial.

"I want it to be a whole lot more about them," Rhodes said. "I don't want to be just in front of the class pointing at notes. I want them to be able to display their opinions, and I think that's what helps keep them motivated."

Another aspect of the summer school program is that graduate students are also participating.

Parkway South works in cooperation with Maryville University's masters of arts secondary teaching and inquiry program, allowing the students to shadow high school teachers and get the real-life experience teaching.

"I've read a lot of books on this stuff, but the classroom is always going to be a totally different experience," said Maggie Moore, student of the masters program.

Gerker said after the Maryvile students are done with the summer school program, they serve as student teachers during the regular school year.

"It's great. We have hired quite a number of graduates from the program to teach at Parkway," Gerker said.

Rhodes is one of those teachers who, before teaching at Parkway, was also enrolled in the Maryville program.

"I went to Maryville because I would be placed here," Rhodes said. "I knew about the Parkway School District, and I wanted to get a job there. My first experience was actually this class, which I currently teach. It feels great to now get to teach it."

At the end of the summer school, students will be able to showcase what they have learned in an exhibition evening. Gerker said parents are always excited to see the new skills their kids have acquired.

"We have a theme around here, and that is 'Education is life itself,'" Gerker said. "Most of our kids come from a two-parent, working family, and it is probably not a good idea to leave teenagers alone all day long. Any time that you can entice a kid to learn something new, rather than them sit around their homes texting or playing computer games, is a plus. With this program, we engage their minds, and we can make them a better people."

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