New Jerusalem School District, a small school district with a rich history in Tracy, is using its online curriculum to offer summer school to students at Delta Charter High School. Superintendent David Thoming said offering summer school is important to the students, because many of them rely on summer courses to stay on track.
“For some kids, it’s going to make the difference between graduating and not graduating,” Thoming said.
He said the money the district receives from the state for summer school is too little to pay for the math, English and history courses it will offer, but the district budgeted money to cover the difference. The district has a yearly budget of about $5 million.
He said the number of classes that will be offered this summer depends on the state and how many employees the district will be able to afford.
He estimates the district will offer about 500 or 600 spots in the classes, but he expects more than 1,000 students will apply. Students currently enrolled at Delta Charter will get first priority, and students who attend an open house this coming Friday will be next in line to secure a seat in the virtual classroom.
“The demand for summer school is going to be huge,” Thoming said.
In past years, the district has enrolled about 100 or 150 students from outside the district, and Thoming expects that number will increase this year.
Delta Charter School increased its enrollment by 120 students this school year, upping the school’s population to about 500 students enrolled in unique curriculum that includes courses online and in the classroom.
“We basically design a program to fit each kid’s needs,” he said.
The charter school opened its doors in 2001 and continues to offer students clubs and activities, such as sports and speech and debate, without draining the district’s budget.
Thoming said the district was able to avoid budget cuts for next school year because of low overhead costs, a history of conservative spending and administrators taking on extra responsibilities. He estimated the district has about $2.1 million in reserves.
The superintendent said many administrators are also responsible for overseeing things such as charter school compliance and student testing, because the district would not be able to afford to hire someone strictly for these positions.
The superintendent said the district has also saved money by keeping class sizes at around 29 students at New Jerusalem Elementary for the past six years or so. He said the larger class sizes allow for more than one teacher in a classroom, which allows for more one-on-one time with students.
New Jerusalem Elementary School has about 760 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade and has a waiting list for enrollment, Thoming said.
He said he feels bad for superintendents of large school districts because cutting art, music, physical education or field trips would be tough for him.
“Things are tight,” he said. “It’s a matter of, for us, at looking at ways to tighten our belt in areas that don’t affect students.”
Contact reporter Jaclyn Hirsch at 830-4269 or jhirsch@tracypress.com.
Two of us were in English, two were in science. Nearly an entire program of online learning was wiped out, thanks to budget cuts. Since when did basic subjects in English and science become an expendable commodity? Of course the cuts are affecting students at New Jerusalem Charter School District! These state budget cuts are deeply affecting our ability to provide adequate levels of service.
SO true! TUSD will have so many combo classes and large class sizes, no summer school, and less art and PE: certainly students are being affected!
Lack of comments here: does the Tracy community truly understand what is going on!?! Are parents ok with their child not learning grade level subject matter (combos), or the lack of assessments and rigor? Is it ok if school, district, and individual test scores drop? Do we need PE specialist with an organized thought-out lesson plan (think: obesity rates)? Does art and music keep many of our students engaged and in school?
Wake up Tracy!