Summer Programs
Summer Programs
Learning, Growth, and New Opportunities
Learning at RSD doesn't stop when the school year ends.
Our summer programs are designed to meet students where they are—helping them maintain academic progress, develop new skills, build independence, and explore new possibilities. From hands-on learning and community experiences to paid work and internships, summer gives students opportunities to put their learning into practice in meaningful ways.
Programs vary by age, individual student needs, and year.
Extended School Year (ESY)
RSD's six-week Extended School Year program serves eligible students from the Early Childhood Center through grade 8 whose Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) include summer services.
ESY provides continued instruction and support to help students maintain skills and progress toward IEP goals while preventing substantial regression during the summer months. Students continue learning in RSD's accessible, bilingual ASL/English environment, with instruction and related services based on their individual needs.
Summer also offers opportunities to take learning beyond the classroom. Field trips, hands-on projects, outdoor activities, and experiential learning help students stay engaged, practice skills in new settings, and enjoy learning together.
Summer Work Experience Program
For high school students, summer can also be a time to build the skills and confidence needed for life after graduation.
RSD's Summer Work Experience Program has roots reaching back to the early 1970s. Participating students take on paid, supervised work assignments while developing both practical job skills and the workplace habits that help employees succeed—responsibility, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, time management, and persistence.
Work experiences vary from year to year and may take students throughout the RSD campus and into the community. Students have served as teaching assistants, worked alongside Facilities staff to improve the campus, learned car detailing, tended community gardens, repaired and maintained bicycles, and helped restore campus spaces and structures.
The work is real, and so is the responsibility. With guidance from RSD staff, students learn to follow directions, work as part of a team, master unfamiliar tasks, solve problems, and take pride in a job well done.
These supervised experiences can also support students as they work toward New York State Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) learning standards and work-based learning requirements.
Independent Living Program
Independence is built through practice.
RSD's Independent Living Program gives students opportunities to strengthen the everyday life skills they will need as they move toward adulthood and greater independence. In a supportive residential environment on campus, students practice skills such as cooking and meal planning, grocery shopping, budgeting and money management, cleaning and laundry, personal organization, time management, and navigating the community.
Just as important, students practice making choices, solving everyday problems, communicating their needs, working cooperatively with others, and taking increasing responsibility for themselves and their surroundings.
These experiences turn everyday routines into opportunities for growth—helping students build confidence and apply skills in authentic situations.
Future Deaf Scientists: Wilmot Summer Internships
A unique partnership between RSD and Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center opens another kind of summer opportunity for RSD’s high school students: exploring careers in science, medicine, and cancer research.
The Future Deaf Scientists program began as a partnership between RSD and Wilmot Cancer Institute, giving Deaf high school students opportunities to learn directly from researchers, physicians, and other healthcare professionals. Through classroom instruction, laboratory experiences, career exploration, and professional shadowing, students experience areas of medicine and research they might not otherwise encounter.
An important part of the program is access to Deaf professionals and mentors in medicine and science. Students can see firsthand the possibilities available to them while developing their own interests, professional skills, and plans for the future.
The RSD-Wilmot partnership has since become the model for a growing national initiative bringing similar opportunities to Deaf students and schools across the country.
Learn more about the Future Deaf Scientists program at Wilmot Cancer Institute
