When people feel good about what they are doing together, it shows. This past summer, smiles and enthusiasm stretched the seams of the district’s Intermediate School which housed the six-week Dallas - DARES program. Good feelings also extended into the homes and hearts of the students, teachers, aides and parents who were involved. : “Richard loves summer school this year,” one parent reported in the poast- DARES evaluation. ‘‘His teachers have worked miracles with out son. He loves DARES and will miss the warmth and guidance of these excellent teachers.” One father pinpointed the planned ef- fectiveness of the 1975 Dallas Approach to Remediation and Enrichment Summer when he observed. *‘DARES was of short duration and not dragged out. No chance for my son to get bored.” Another mother noticed important learning outcomes in her child. ‘‘Lisa ~ knows her multiplication tables very well for the first time.” she commented. ‘‘Her speed reading has been a real ac- complishment and of course, she just loved ballet and arts and crafts! All in all. in our opinion it has heen three of the best weeks as far as learning and fun can be for her. Thank you all for making this program available and to the selection of really excellent teachers and aides that must really love children and teaching.” “I think DARES is teaching some of the practical skills boys and girls need.” suggested another mother. ‘‘They are learning to sew. to read. to play musical instruments. It's great.” Aides and teachers who participated were also queried about their involvement in DARES. One young teacher-in-training who had joined the ranks of DARES aides indicated, ‘‘DARES helped the children learn without being uptight.” A longtime Dallas teacher who became a DARES instructor recognized that scheduled enrichment activities provided a break that refreshed and lengthened students’ attention spans for studying. She also reported on a key concept which contributed to the program's success. ‘It was a joint effort hetween the student and the regular school vear's teacher to OB- JECTIVELY pinpoint weaknesses the students might have. We could then use the BEST teaching techniques to help cach child and not stick strictly to teaching from the hook." “Staff involvement and enthusiasm is important to a project like DARES.” replied another teacher. “Teachers created learning centers that were very effective in reading. language arts, and math. They gave children a chance to learn exactly what they needed.” In reply to a question asking how par- ticipation in DARES had helped them professionally, one teacher's response summarized the feelings of many DARES staff members. “DARES gave me better insight into the field of education.” stated this lady. “I learned how to work together effectively with other teachers to plan for children. Most importantly. it helped me to understand children better.” Enthusiasm. involvement, warmth. and positive learning outcomes for students and teachers were the results of DARES plan developed by a representative group of elementary teachers, principals. and counselors who worked many long hours together during the spring months. In April. Dr. Linford A. Werkheiser, Superintendent of the Dallas Schools, had announced to this group that the federal funds which had supported past summer school programs in Dallas were again available for the district's use. He also reminded them that the summer sschool program had been cancelled the summer hefore because the limited enrollment of 32 had not justified the establishment of the program Education Act has developed the teachers and aides He challenged the group to ask the critical questions of themselves and others would more effectively meet the needs of students within the district. Questions were asked and answers were given. What resulted was a plan to personalize and individualize instruction. It was based on the assumption that every child would benefit from a concentrated opportunity to mix supportive and action-oriented enrichment activities with chances to improve needed specific language arts and math skills. “No child knows everything,” remarked one member of the planning group. “Why not take the stigma of failure away from summer school and give all of our students the chance to learn somethings they really need to feel suce- cessful next vear in school? From these plans and the pre-DARES inservice activities organized and con- ducted for staff members. each child attending DARES developed a personal contact for learning with his or her regular classroom teacher that included in- volvement in needed language arts and math learning centers as well as two enrichment activities. Scheduling and logistical problems were worked out so that children participated in DARES learning teams with students of their same ages. They were guided by teachers and aides who shared the responsibilities for planning and im- plementing the learning situations ac- cording to their areas of expertise and interest. Comparison of the pre and post DARES learning assessment surveys ad- ministered to DARES students have in- dicated that children gained needed skills in reading. language arts. and math disciplines. This information together with the comments and suggestions of those who participated helped to evaluate the success of the DARES program for primary age L.ear- dividualized writing skills. The Dallas ambulance came to DARES as part of the first aid enrichment program. Other activities for kids that generated enthusiasm included ballet, baton, stuffed animal workshop, ceramics, baseball, hasketball, gvmnastics, puppet playhouse, watercolor and sketching. both Dallas and the federal source, K.S EA Title T program. Dallas DARED and did it. There is room for improvement as there is in any new venture that is attempted Feedback from participants will help to rvefind the program if it is implemented again. \Ss one enthusiastic mother sum- marized. “1 think the DARES program proves that learning CAN be fun! It can also be a total program for all kinds of children Nore emphasis is placed on individual progress and the development of each child's creativity in an area he enjoys. | hope that DALLAS WILL DARE AGAIN funding
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers