After batting around a series of scenarios, Naperville School District 203 officials have set in stone a plan for next year’s summer school program that maintains costs, but results in a number of nips and tucks to the overall structure.

Summer school might be far off on the horizon, but Naperville 203 officials have been using these frosty-weathered months to begin assembling the components of next year’s program. The discussion began last month and spanned multiple board of education meetings. 

Overall changes to the summer school schedule

Kevin Wojtkiewicz, director of summer learning, and Jayne Willard, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, gave a presentation on a modified summer school proposal that garnered support from the board of education, in a 6-1 vote, at a meeting on Monday, Dec. 15.

“Our goal was to thoughtfully revise the summer learning model in a way that limits additional burden on families, while preserving access, quality, and support for students who rely on most of these programs,” Willard said.

A number of structural changes are in the works to help the district toe the line on cost containment within the operating budget, while not passing on cost increases to families, according to the information shared at the meeting.

Changes in the works, Wojtkiewicz said, include a pivot to shorter schedules. Elementary and junior high summer school, for instance, will run on a 4-week schedule, beginning June 8 and concluding July 2.

“This reduces staffing costs by approximately one-third,” Wojtkiewicz said. “We are also proposing consolidation to a single elementary site, which significantly reduces staffing needs, while still ensuring access to remedial literacy, math, multi-lingual services, and ESY (extended school year) programming.”

The high school summer school program will run two semesters, with the first taking place June 2-18, and the second from June 22-July 10. 

Naperville 203 plans to continue offering science camp from June 2-26, and summer music from July 7-30.

Curriculum and course fees also examined

From a curricular standpoint, Naperville 203 will offer a slimmed down number of enrichment courses, alongside the core academic programs designed to help students in need of additional support in-between traditional school years. Course offerings will be more closely monitored, Wojtkiewicz indicated, to keep the budgetary considerations in mind.

“Enrollment guidelines will be strictly followed for the remainder of elected classes offered,” he said. “Due to low overhead costs, such as no food service and no transportation, summer music and science camp will be able to run at full capacity.”

Course fees are as follows:

• Elementary — a flat rate of $195 per course
• Junior high — $195 per 90-minute course, $390 per 3-hour course, and an additional $50 fee for courses with a field trip
• High school — $225 per 0.5-credit course, $400 for driver’s education, and $325 for ACT prep
• Science camp — between $195 and $215
• Summer music — between $115 and $215
• English language and extended school year — No charge
• Transportation — $30 per semester

Board weighs in on administrators’ proposal 

In early November, Naperville 203 administrators presented the board with a recommendation that has since been modified over the course of the three meetings it has been on agendas.

Initially, the administrators proposed a 20% tuition fee increase for most summer school courses and programs in 2026 to cover a range of costs — from staffing to transportation — all of which have been on the rise in recent years amid inflation.

Board members, however, expressed concern with the impact the price hike would have on families who already are contending with rising costs elsewhere.

At the Dec. 15 meeting, board member Holly Blastic praised administrators for taking the feedback into consideration and returning with a plan that weighs the different factors in play.

“We threw a lot at you, and I was one of the people doing that,” Blastic said. “You didn’t have a lot of time, but this is living within our means.”

Board member Marc Willensky also gave the administrators high marks for developing a plan that has the district’s bottom line in mind, while still providing viable summer school options for students.

“Given the circumstances we’re in financially, it really does say a lot about the team being able to rally, looking at things in a different way and deliver results that I think are going to be positive for the students, but at the same time, helps us with the cost containment that we need,” Willensky said.

But board member Melissa Kelley Black, who cast the dissenting vote, said she believed the district should double down on its academic offerings for students with individualized education program plans, and focus less on enrichment courses.

“While I would love to be able to have those classes, I’m not sure it makes sense for us to provide classes when we live in an environment … where these comparable camps and classes can be provided to the people in our community,” Kelley Black said, referring to similar offerings through the park district, among other venues within Naperville.

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