Summer school has students on waitlist

The Shawano School District’s summer school program is expected to bring in more than 600 students in 2022, but there’s a question about whether there will be enough staff to provide extended learning from June to July.

A report from Thomas Dechant, Shawano Community Middle School associate principal, revealed that there were 35 teachers in place for the summer session, but three more need to be found soon, or else the district might have to wait-list some students who signed up. Dechant revealed the information to the Shawano School Board on May 16.

“We appreciate what they do, and I appreciate what they do, because I can’t do my job without their support,” Dechant said. “The whole balance process is to see how many teachers want to teach, and then at that point, we can open the classes up.”

Dechant said he initially had a full slate of teachers, but some had to drop out due to personal reasons, leaving him to try and fill the gaps.

“I am right now juggling, and I let people know there is a wait,” Dechant said. “You may or may not get in. I’m doing everything I can to make it happen.”

Dechant said the number of students is split between Hillcrest Primary School and Shawano Community Middle School, which will host classes for grades 3-8. He noted there are about a dozen students on the waiting list.

The news of a waitlist was troubling to board member Mart Grams, a former teacher with the district who worked the summer school program for over 30 years.

“Summer school has always made us money, and quite frankly, we’ve used money there to pad our budget elsewhere,” Grams said. “We’ve never ever had a waitlist for kids, so something’s not right. As long as there’s seats, there’s room.”

Superintendent Randi Anderson noted that the district has been in the negative with summer school the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grams questioned how there wasn’t enough staff to fill the needed positions.

“It used to be that people knocked each other over,” he said. “I taught every course in that book, even drama, and I sucked at it. There should never be a limit on children, ever.”

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com