Hear that? The rumble?
That’s the sound of synapses firing across Monongalia County’s school district this morning.
And that’s because it’s Summer Avalanche time.
Which, happens to be the name of the district’s landmark learning enrichment effort that is going on all this month at every school in the district.
Susan Taylor, who coordinates student programming for Mon schools, says the Avalanche will pile on the academic fun, for first-graders to those hitting senior year — just as last year’s inaugural offering.
Today is the start for the enrichment activities that will go through July 28, she said.
Courses cover everything from the rudiments of money management for elementary-school youngsters to book clubs and “boot camp” seminars for seniors who will need to navigate student loan paperwork and other particulars for college.
One elementary school offering is “Storybook STEM,” which combines the narrative of fun stories and the principles of science, technology, engineering and math concepts.
“Break the Mold” for middle-schools is a platform for the creation of stop-motion videos, including storyboards and high-tech editing.
Because there’s nothing wrong with the classics, Taylor said, creative writing clinics are among the offering for the Avalanche’s high-school participants.
COVID-19 ended up being a creative and academic cause, of sorts, for the first Avalanche last year.
The district funded it with a $1.4 million outlay from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Relief Fund, which was created in response to the pandemic.
Particularly, the first wave of the pandemic and the sequestering of every student in the state after Gov. Jim Justice ordered the shuttering of schools on a Friday the 13th, back in March 2020.
The idea of the Avalanche was to help students regain their academic and social footing after months of being away from in-person teachers and classmates.
After last year’s success, the district didn’t waste any time going to work on the 2022 edition.
“We really got going in February,” said Taylor, who began her career in education as a classroom teacher and reading specialist. “It’s basically one big calendar for us.”
And, one big enrollment for the Avalanche, she told Board of Education members last week.
“We have 1,800 kids registered across the district,” she said during a meeting. “That’s a record.”
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