Madison elementary to ‘SAIL’ into summer

DISON – Madison Elementary School is serving as a select site for students to experience “Summer Adventures in Learning” or SAIL.

“SAIL is a collective impact project that works to overcome summer learning loss. The project brings funders together with program providers: the three local school districts, The Schools Foundation and the Community Foundation,” Melissa Thompson with Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville said.

For Madison City Schools, SAIL is focused on the English Learner or EL program “with rigorous instruction in a fun format targeting English language acquisition and math skills for EL students in grades 4-6,” Dr. Natalia Dooley said. Dooley is MCS Federal Programs Coordinator.

“The goal of the program is to help students avoid the ‘summer slide’ and offset the loss of English, reading and math skills during the summer,” Dooley said.

The program ensures high-quality instruction from elementary- and ESL-certified teachers through a non-traditional, highly engaging, project-based format that sets the summer learning apart from traditional academic experience, she said.

All students enrolled in SAIL will receive 1.5 hours of daily instruction in both math and reading with “creative and differentiated thematic instruction. SAIL promises high-quality instruction from elementary- and ESL-certified teachers in a non-traditional, highly engaging, thematic instruction,” Dooley said.

“Two main themes for the program will be ‘Blast Off’ and ‘Time Travelers.’” This thematic approach and hands-on STEM experiences will allow SAIL to create a fun atmosphere for summer learning, so that all students will have an enjoyable experience.

“In addition to math and reading instruction, the program will include such experiential learning opportunities as digital portfolios, STEM, art, and music providing whole-child experiences, ensuring exposure to the English language and reducing summer skill loss,” Dooley said.

In each of the areas, content experts with substantial experience will provide experiential learning opportunities, she said.

In addition, SAIL Spotlight Day on June 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. will allow the public to attend free sessions:

* Madison County – 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. Heart of the Valley YMCA’s Bell Scholars Program and Readers, Madison County Elementary School, 173 Wood St., Gurley.

* Huntsville — 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. Village of Promise’s Freedom School, Highlands Elementary School, 2500 Barney Terrace NW.

* Madison – 11 a.m. to noon, luncheon with debrief for SAIL, Madison elementary.

* Madison – Noon to 12:45 p.m., English Learners SAIL Program, Madison elementary.

To determine SAIL’s success, organizers will review student math and reading assessment data and social-emotional assessment results, along with survey data from student, staff and. Coordinators for 2018 will use these findings for next summer’s sessions.

Community Foundation of Huntsville’s address is 225 Church St. in Huntsville. For more information, call 256-535-2065, email info@communityfoundationhsv.org or visit communityfoundationhsv.org.