CYPRESS : Schools Considering Saturday Classes

School on Saturday sounds like a youngster’s nightmare, but it might become reality in the Cypress School District as education officials look for ways to increase instruction for students.

As part of a district effort to reduce learning gaps created by holidays and summer vacations, offering classes on Saturday morning is being explored as a solution, along with after-school programs and classes held during vacations. Officials say it would be like offering summer school all year long.

“We want to try and get away from offering expanded learning just during the summer months,” said Jim Owens, a district administrator. “The criticism is that some kids lose so much in the summer that we have to start all over again.”

Owens said, however, that Saturday classes are only at the discussion stage. Each school in the district is studying the concept and how it might apply to the school’s specific situations for the 1992-93 school year.

Low achievers, who typically attend summer school, are the main targets for the extended programs. Gifted students might also be considered for the classes if they are not working up to their ability, Owens said.

Money from the district’s summer school fund is available to pay for the additional classes. Each school council is expected to make a decision by June whether to implement the extended learning program.