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Suffolk Public Schools will offer remediation and accelerated learning programs for students through its Saturday Academy beginning Oct. 16.

The program will take place every other Saturday through April 2. Session dates in 2021 are Oct. 16, Oct. 30, Nov. 13 and Dec. 4, and in 2022 on Jan. 8, Jan. 22, Feb. 5, Feb. 19, March 5, March 19 and April 2.

The sessions will be at Elephant’s Fork Elementary School for those in kindergarten through fifth grade, and at John Yeates Middle School for students in middle and high school.

“Everyone’s talked about learning loss for so long, and I want to get past that and really begin to look toward next year,” said Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon III last month.

The Saturday school, tutoring and other support programs at the elementary, middle and high school levels are among the items SPS is using federal CARES Act Part III funding for, as it must spend at least 20% of the money toward addressing learning loss. Those programs are budgeted at just over $4.1 million.

Division teachers and staff will be offering hands-on, interactive instruction and added support based on content that was recently taught. The instruction will look to reinforce power skills that have been identified within specific content areas’ Standards of Learning. No make-up work or assessments will be given.

Elementary students will focus on math and reading/writing. Sixth- through eighth-graders will focus on English 6/7/8, Math 6/7/8, Algebra I, civics and science, and high school students will focus on Algebra I, Algebra II, biology, English 9-12, geometry and World History I.

The sessions will take place from 9 a.m. until noon, with Session 1 going from 9 a.m. to 10:20 a.m., with a break and transition period from 10:20 to 10:40 a.m. and then Session 2 following from 10:40 a.m. until noon.

Students will be able to register on the SPS website under the Academics tab between Friday and Wednesday before each session in order to attend. Registration for the first session Oct. 16 will be open from Oct. 8 through Oct. 13. Late registrations will not be accepted due to the planning required for the Saturday sessions. Registration caps will be locked at a maximum of 15 students per class.

Suffolk Public Schools will not be providing transportation. Parents or guardians will be responsible for the drop-off and pick-up of their children. Students can be dropped off at 8:45 a.m. for breakfast and must be picked up at noon. Secondary students can attend two sessions, but must be dropped off and picked up at the appropriate session time.

The division states that violations of drop-off and pick-up times will mean a student will not be allowed to attend future sessions. Breakfast and a snack are provided.

The SPS Saturday Academy will also have virtual tutoring services through its instructional support partner, University Instructors/TutorU. Students will be able to register for live virtual sessions with qualified tutors in available content areas, and they will need to register and have reliable internet.

Students will also be able to earn SPS Bucks and qualify for BSN/Nike SPS apparel, game tickets, gift cards and other prizes as a participation incentive.

Anyone with questions or in need of more information should call the School Administrative Offices at 757-925-6750 or email comments@spsk12.net.