Students who want to spend the summer learning Spanish, drama or art shouldn’t look to the Lawrence school district.

The school district is dropping “enrichment” courses and closing its elementary school cluster site at Prairie Park School, where the classes were taught to 160 students last year.

The district also is eliminating junior high summer school and offering high school courses online.

The changes will save the district money, said Sandee Crowther, executive director for planning and program improvement.

Enrollment in the elementary programs dropped last year, when the location moved from Schwegler School to Prairie Park and the dates for the programs were pushed back to later in the summer.

District officials also did not see significant strides in students’ math skills, Crowther said.

Some schools have opted to focus on before- and after-school programs.

“Schools are looking at what’s the best thing we can do to provide the best opportunity to students,” said Ellen Willets, federal programs specialist.

Administrative staff decide changes to the summer school program and report those to the school board. The changes to this summer’s program were made in the fall following the 2004 summer program, Crowther said.

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The cluster site served about 190 students in 2003. That number decreased to about 160 students in 2004, including 75 students who participated in a federally funded reading program.

Instead of the cluster site, the district will offer targeted reading and math programs at East Heights Early Childhood Family Center and Hillcrest, Woodlawn and New York schools.

Other programs set for this summer include a Reading First program for primary students at Prairie Park School, extended-year programs for students in special education, and instrumental music offerings for incoming sixth- and seventh-grade students.

For more information, choose the link “2005 Summer School info” at www.usd497.org/district/.