How to Help Your Students Maintain Progress During the Upcoming Summer Vacation

Every year, students experience setbacks in their education during the months they spend away from school over the summer. At Pediatric Therapeutic Services (PTS), we know that students living with disabilities are at an even higher risk of experiencing skill regression each year.

There are several ways to support your students over the summer months, so that they return to school ready to continue moving toward their educational goals. Extended School Year (ESY) services are one option. They help eligible students maintain the vital skills they’ve been developing throughout the school year.

Even if a student doesn’t qualify for ESY services, though, you can still take important steps to support them this summer. Learn more about what you can do today!

What Are Extended School Year (ESY) Services?

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that students with disabilities must be provided with a public education tailored to their individual needs. In some cases, this includes an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which lasts either 12 months (i.e., Extended School Year (ESY) programming) or 10 months only during the school year. Often, IEPs do not include ESY programming.

Extended School Year (ESY) services fill in the gaps for students with IEPs who are determined to be at risk for skill regression and who are eligible for these related services. If a student currently has a 10-month IEP and is later determined to be eligible for ESY services, their program must be updated accordingly before summer programming begins.

How Is Eligibility Determined for ESY Services?

Students with current IEPs may qualify for ESY services based on a combination of quantitative data and clinical judgment from each clinician. According to Pennsylvania law, schools should ask and answer the following seven questions to help make an eligibility determination:

? Has the student experienced measurable regression after a long break from instruction?

? How easily or quickly will the student be able to recover skills after regression?

? Could the student’s tendency to regress specifically affect their ability to maintain progress toward their IEP goals?

? Has the student recently mastered or neared mastery of a goal, and would an interruption in instruction affect their ability to maintain the same level of mastery?

? Does the student need to maintain a certain crucial skill to achieve their IEP goals and self-sufficiency?

? Have successive interruptions in educational programming resulted in a student’s withdrawal from learning?

? What is the student’s primary disability category (autism, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, etc.), and how severe is it?

IEP teams need to consider all these factors when making an eligibility determination, although a student may qualify for ESY services based on only one of them.

What Happens During the ESY?

Students participate in educational activities throughout the week just like they do during the regular school year. If you are a clinician providing ESY services, you will still conduct therapy sessions as designated by the student’s IEP. Along with that, you will assess each student’s progress by collecting key data points and completing ESY reports.

As a related service provider, you may also choose to add fun activities or games to address ESY goals to keep students more actively engaged. ESY school days and weeks are frequently shorter than those in the regular academic year. Schools that partner with PTS schedule ESY services for four to five weeks during the summer months; however, exact dates vary by school district.

Ways to Support Your Students During the Summer Months

Whether a student is eligible for ESY services or not, you can take steps to support them over the summer vacation. Doing so will better ensure they can fully access their education all year long.

Schedule a Pre-Summer IEP Meeting With Providers & Parents

Before the school year comes to an end, you can schedule an IEP meeting for each student to get each team member on the same page. At the same time, you can provide additional resources for related service providers, as well as parents and guardians.

That way, the IEP team can align any ESY activities, if the student is eligible, with at-home ones to maximize benefits for the child. When parents and guardians understand the details of their child’s IEP and know the progress they’ve made, they can better support them over the summer with or without ESY services.

Create Simple At-Home Interventions that Align With IEP Goals

If parents and guardians need extra guidance, clinicians or other IEP team members like you can make suggestions for specific activities that will help the child maintain their progress. One option, if feasible, is to schedule weekly tutoring sessions and structured recreational lessons based on the student’s unique interests.

Along with that, you can help them keep their child actively engaged by brainstorming ideas for other activities, like:

? Going to the local park and playground

? Playing interactive and educational games

? Picking out and reading new books together

? Visiting a museum, aquarium, or nature center

? Attending events, such as reading programs at your local library

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Parents and guardians can also use real-life scenarios as opportunities to practice key skills, such as meeting new people, making friends, talking on the phone, and ordering food. During the meeting, you can all come up with specific scenarios together that match the IEP and/or ESY goals for your students.

Set Students up for Success This Summer With Targeted ESY Services

Whether you are a school administrator or a school-based clinician, you can help your students maintain progress during their summer vacation. When you partner with or work alongside PTS, you will have access to the support and resources you need to improve educational outcomes for students year-round. Contact us today to learn more!