It started with an academic article.
More than three decades ago, Richard Garnett read a study published by Ohio State University that outlined the learning loss elementary-aged students can experience during lengthy summer breaks.
“I said, if summer school was good for the kids in Ohio, it ought to be good for our kids,” recalled Garnett, then-superintendent of Fredericksburg City Public Schools. “That way, they’re not sitting home and watching TV and things like that.”
That idea ultimately came to fruition with the creation of the division’s Superintendent’s Summer Scholars program, a multi-week enrichment program open to all city students in grades K-5. Previously, FCPS offered summer school only for students who needed remediation.
On Friday morning, the division honored Garnett with a plaque during the closing ceremony for the program’s 30th year.
Looking out over a packed gymnasium at Hugh Mercer Elementary, the former superintendent took heart in the program’s steady growth from its first iteration in the late 1990s, when he estimated that it enrolled 35-40 students. More than 3,500 students have gone through the Summer Scholars program since its inception.
“It’s a lot more children involved now, which I’m glad to see,” said Garnett, who also served on Fredericksburg’s City Council. “I’m particularly glad to see the number of parents who are here today.”
FCPS Superintendent Marci Catlett poses with former Superintendent Richard Garnett, who helped found the Summer Scholars Program. (Photos courtesy of FCPS)
According to program director Mia Romero, this year’s cohort included about 90 students divided evenly into three age groups. Each age group (K-1st grade, 2-3, 4-5) had its own theme for this year’s program: innovators, inventors, and changemakers, respectively.
Tuition for the Summer Scholars Program is $100, but many students received full scholarships, Romero said. The program is funded entirely through the division’s budget and employs about 10 staff members.
While preventing learning loss is the goal of Summer Scholars, core subjects like math and reading are woven in almost sneakily. Mondays were dedicated to field trips, including two local and two out-of-town excursions.
“Of course, we incorporated that into our lessons,” Romero said. “But it was really trying to trick our students into, ‘Hey, we’re learning.’ We’re doing things that we would in the classroom but in a more fun, interactive way, hands-on.”
FCPS Superintendent Marci Catlett reminisced warmly about her experiences with the program, both as its former director and as a parent. Catlett’s son, Mario, is a former Summer Scholar. She still has photos of her son learning about river safety on the Rappahannock with longtime guide Bill Micks.
“It’s almost like a hidden gem, with the learning mixed in,” Catlett said.
