JAY — The School Committee on Thursday approved changes to the Jay High School Student/Parent Handbook, including a move from assigned student parking spaces to a tag permit system and a new cell-phone restriction.

Students must pay $5 for tags that will hang from their rearview windows so school authorities can identify who owns each vehicle.

If a student has the permit taken away by school officials, the price to get another one will be $10. If the permit is taken away a second time, it will cost $25 to get another one. A fourth permit will not be issued, Principal Joe Moore said.

The cell-phone restriction will require phones to be off during school time, with the exception of lunch period, Moore said.

“I’d like to meet kids halfway on this,” Moore said. Students will be allowed to check their text and voice messages during lunch period but will not be able to call out, he said.

Inappropriate use of cell phones will get a student one office detention.

Committee Chairwoman Mary Redmond-Luce asked if handbooks could be put on compact discs to save on the cost of paper, copying and staff time. The books are made at each school. Superintendent Robert Wall said the handbooks could be put on the school system’s Web site, www.jayschools.org.

Summer school success

Moore reported on the successful summer school program that was revamped this year.

Students at the high school level become really at risk of dropping out as soon as they fall behind in credits, Moore said. He asked teachers at the end of the fourth quarter to identify standards for students to recover a credit. Teachers put together plans, he said.

This summer, 19 students have recovered 22 credits overall, Moore said. Some students recovered half-credits while others recovered two and three credits. Seven freshmen, six sophomores and three seniors and juniors earned the credits.

“Something we were able to do is graduate three seniors who were not able to graduate in June,” Moore said. The students recovered the necessary credits to receive D minuses on subjects and were able to get their diplomas, he said.

“This is a huge success,” Moore said. “The really encouraging thing is it is based on standards and not seat time. One student came to three sessions and was able to recover a half-credit. That’s how close they were.”

Bamford said some students were arriving a half-hour early to school and were anxious to get started. The hours of the program were 9 a.m. to noon, three days a week.

Alison Gingras, education technician for the summer program, said once students saw that they didn’t have to sit there all summer if they got their work done, it made a difference.

She oversaw a Web-based education program and students did well, even though it is very difficult, Gingras said.

“They have to actually show they have mastered each program before they move on,” she said. “It was a success.”

dperry@sunjournal.com