The summer school session held at Kingston’s Wolfle Elementary School is not paid for by the North Kitsap School District. That fact surprises a lot of people, especially those who recall summer school as a standard in American education, often used to address credit deficiency or behavioral issues.

The summer session at Wolfle began five years ago because staff was concerned with the learning gap that occurs during that season, known to be even higher in schools with high rates of low income. Principal Ben Degnin says that data analysis has proven that Wolfle has significantly closed that learning gap by operating this session. The first- through fifth-graders who attend are more likely to start the following school year with better retention of material previously learned if that material is reinforced in a fun, interactive environment, which still takes learning seriously.

The session is also advantageous to pre-schoolers transitioning to kindergarten, getting a taste of what school will be like, becoming familiar with the structures and behaviors required. This year’s session has a science theme, allowing the curriculum to be highly interactive and include a weekly field trip, but reading and math are taught as well.

Summer school and the way it is supported have changed. In order to have the session, Wolfle staff must organize funding themselves. This year’s funding includes grants from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and the Discuran Foundation, and private donations from the community.  Jacki Haight of the Tribe’s  Early Childhood and Family Services wrote the Discuran grant, which this year provides the session’s largest block of funding.  The session’s cost to operate for three weeks is about $26,000 — for salaries, transportation and field trips, and a breakfast and lunch provided onsite.    The school district provides some basic supplies, but nothing beyond that, so it takes some really dedicated individuals at Wolfle and a whole giving community to pull it off.

In 2011, a group concerned with hunger among the children of local low- income families, many of whom attend Wolfle’s summer session, formed to ensure some of their nutritional needs would be met when school is out and the food programs operating during the school year have ceased.  Kingston Rotarians Frederick Branchflower and Gene Medina brought together others in the community concerned with this issue. The group became Food for Kids, which collects money to support summer lunches.

Within this group, ShareNet’s role is to provide weekend take home food to about 85 kids per week at Wolfle’s summer session. This effort is an extension of our Food to Grow On program, providing this same service to four local schools during the school year.

Once the summer session concludes, Kingston Food Bank helps fill the gap by providing food packs to the same group of kids for the balance of the summer. Local Kiwanians and Rotarians combine forces through Food for Kids to fund Kingston Food Bank’s food packs.

Donations to Food for Kids can be made to Kingston Rotary Foundation, Food for Kids, c/o Kingston North Kitsap Rotary, P.O. Box 832, Kingston, WA 98346.

— Mark Ince is executive director of ShareNet Food Bank and Thrift Store. Contact him at sharenetdirector@centurytel.net.