Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jul 08/98) - Sir John Franklin high school will host Yellowknife's first summer school this August.

Mieke Cameron, Sir John principal and the driving force behind the three-week program, has hired six teachers from both districts to offer a new start to students who feel the need to spruce up their report cards.

"The idea behind the summer school is we really want to give students a second chance to upgrade and to improve their skills in their academics," said Cameron. Depending on enrolment, the courses will offer Grade 8 math and English, Grade 9 math, Grade 10 math, science 10, math 30 and/or 33 and English 30 and/or 33.

Only students who have taken the high school courses before and feel the need for improvement are eligible for summer school. A minimum of eight students have to be enroled in each course in order for it to run. For those who enrol, teachers expect students to consider the courses -- which start at 8:30 a.m. and end 12:30 p.m. daily, plus three hours of homework each day -- as if it were a full-time job.

Over the three-week period, beginning July 20 and ending Aug. 12, teachers will monitor student attendance and progress to encourage and support all students enroled.

"It's a commitment, it's intensive, it's demanding and it's a commitment on both the part of the teachers that have agreed to come on board and a commitment on the part of the students" she said.

The Department of Education is partially funding the program through Yellowknife Education District No. 1's budget.

Ken Woodley, superintendent of Yk No. 1, said he thinks summer school is a great idea.

"It's yet another opportunity for students to attack their education from a different perspective, another means of getting what they need. It enhances people's success, it gives the another way of being successful," said Woodley.

The superintendent added that this program is the start of something bigger. There has never been a summer school in Yellowknife and they want to start small, give quality service and allow it to sell itself and expand over time.

Woodley wanted to point out that the summer school is not just limited to Yellowknife.

"Hopefully it will provide a service for outlying communities that don't have the ability to move on to summer school," he said.

"I think this is a very, very positive addition to the educational services that are already offered in the community. I think it will serve a very useful purpose."