Westerly Elementary School offers extended-day opportunity

About 50 third- and fourth-graders at Westerly Elementary School in Bay Village are participating in a small group, extended-day program. Photo courtesy Bay Village Schools

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Gov. Mike DeWine has suggested that school districts consider offering extended day or summer programs to help students compensate for any learning losses due to COVID-19. Westerly Elementary School has been offering an extended-day program for many years, and is well ahead of the governor’s plan.

Earlier this month, Westerly kicked off its Extended Day Opportunity tutoring program, which continues through April 1. The program provides third- and fourth-graders with the opportunity to participate in small-group reading intervention and math support at no cost. Transportation is even provided for those students involved in afterschool programs at Glenview Center for Child Care and Learning, Bethesda Child Care Center and Kiddie Kollege.

Students were recommended for the program through teacher monitoring, observation and a variety of assessments, and there are currently 50 students participating in the Extended Day Opportunity program.

“Research shows that early reading intervention is a key component to a child’s educational success, and Westerly’s Extended Day Opportunity focuses on providing strategies to increase students’ reading comprehension, as well as offer extra support in mathematics,” said Westerly Elementary School Principal Mrs. Josie Sanfilippo. “We thank our Westerly parents for being a partner in our goal to improve and increase the academic performance of our students.”