Build Your Summer: How Do You Build Engagement with Parents and Students?

Develop a Communication Plan You may know that you want your district to offer summer programming, but how do you make it happen? “The first step is to come up with a plan of your offerings at the district level,”
By Savannah Waszczuk
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Develop a Communication Plan

You may know that you want your district to offer summer programming, but how do you make it happen? “The first step is to come up with a plan of your offerings at the district level,” says Janna Elfrink (pictured right), Launch’s Digital Learning Coordinator who previously acted as a Launch liaison in the Reeds Spring School District. “When I was at Reeds Spring, we created a schedule of what we would offer based on what students were interested in and what we didn’t offer seated.” The next step is to communicate this with all team members who will be involved. “If your counselors and principals aren’t already aware of what you’re offering, have a meeting to share your plan with your team,” Elfrink says.

Next you should figure out how you will share your summer school offerings with your staff and students. Launch is happy to create communications materials for districts, free of charge (see opposite page for details). You should also consider including your summer course offering announcement in the other forms of communication your district utilizes.

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Share Customized communication Materials

Launch is happy to design customized materials for all partner districts, free of charge. Depending on the number of courses your district is offering, we will create postcard-size or flyer-size materials and ship them to your district. It typically takes 2 to 3 weeks for our creative team to design, print and ship the materials, so please plan in advance and order as early as possible!

PRO BUILDER'S TIP:
Request free customized communication materials from Launch to advertise summer classes to students and parents!

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How to Request Free Communication Materials:

  1. Visit fueledbylaunch.com/communication-request
  2. Provide the required district information including the courses you will offer, how students should enroll and a copy of your district’s logo
  3. Submit your request, then watch your inbox for a proof of your communication materials
  4. Review your materials, and request any changes
  5. Submit “Finished” after you are happy with your proof, and wait for your copies to arrive!

Designate Your Summer Offerings With DESE

Read on to ensure your district properly reports your summer program’s Average Daily Attendance (ADA) for state reimbursement.

Step One: All Launch partner districts should choose Launch as a service provider for summer courses. Make sure you have appropriately completed your Core Data Screen 24A-DESE Summer School Application.

Step Two: When completing the program information section, use your high school, estimated enrollment, grade span, Launch open and close dates and your district hours per day for Core Date Screen 24A-DESE Summer School Application.

Step Three: Choose “yes” for service provider, and add the comment “Virtual curriculum provided by Launch” in the district comments section. Provide a copy to the Launch office for review. Submit via your district’s core data by May 1 (DESE Deadline)

Step Four: Create a schedule for your students to ensure a virtual placeholder is in place for Launch courses. Submit course information to DESE in June Course Assignment MOSIS file by June 15 (DESE Deadline)

Step Five: Submit student attendance in August Enrollment & Attendance MOSIS file by August 15 (DESE Deadline)

Open Enrollment with SPS
If your district does not plan to offer summer school courses, students may enroll with SPS via open enrollment. Contact Savannah Waszczuk at [email protected] for more information.