ESY Students Celebrate Summer with Special Visit from Germantown Fire Department

GMSD’s Extended School Year program brought students, teachers and volunteers together this summer at Forest Hill Elementary School for weeks of learning, connection, and continued growth.

Extended School Year, or ESY, is designed to support students who qualify through their Individualized Education Program teams. The program helps students continue developing important skills and maintain progress made throughout the school year.

“We look at data from after breaks, but not just that,” said Erin Rhodes, GMSD’s Exceptional Student Education supervisor. “We are also looking at foundational skills, like communication or physical skills. We are trying to continue the growth and learning that is happening.”

This summer’s program served approximately 95 students across 12 classrooms, including preschool, elementary, middle, and high school groups. Each day included opportunities to work on IEP goals and objectives while also incorporating activities like morning meetings, centers, crafts, gym time, and outdoor play.

For Rhodes, one of the most special parts of ESY is seeing students and staff from across the district come together in one place.

“It truly is my happy place,” Rhodes said. “It’s so many of the kids that we have worked with at some point over the years, but in one place. It’s really cool to watch.”

Houston High School students also volunteered throughout the summer, including some who have grown up through the program themselves.

Grant, who attended ESY for many years as a student, has now taken on a leadership role by helping younger students and assisting with daily responsibilities, including collecting attendance.

“He was showing that leadership role and showing that he could work with other students,” Rhodes said.

While ESY focuses on important skill development, students also can look forward to special events, and this year, that was a giant water day.

With the help of Tori Rucker, ESE’s Academic & Behavior Interventionist, and the Germantown Fire Department Fire Station 4, students spent the day outside playing in water that rained down from the fire truck’s elevated hose. Students were also able to play with bubbles, chalk, and some much more thanks to the donations of our ESY families. In addition to getting to spend time with these firefighters, even more volunteers, including soccer players coordinated through GMSD’s Coordinated School Health Supervisor Andy Martin, joined in the fun.

The day was such a success that the ESY team is already looking ahead to next year! Rhodes shared that this event quickly became a highlight of the entire summer, and it provided students and staff an opportunity to just take a second and enjoy being together. It was truly a celebration of the relationships that make ESY so special. 

From classroom learning to moments of pure fun, ESY continues to create a supportive environment where students can build skills, strengthen relationships and feel connected throughout the summer months. These students are ready for this next school year, and our staff is already looking forward to making more of these memories!