The program is the school system’s first step in getting students ready for the state’s latest round of accountability standards, the Gateways.

This year’s fourth-graders will be the first students subject to the standards when they become fifth-graders next year.

The following year, eighth-graders — this year’s sixth-graders — will have to meet the standards, which require students to show proficiency in reading, writing and math before they are promoted.

So Rowan-Salisbury, with funding from the state, has established a new summer program to help students in this year’s fourth- and sixth-grade classes become proficient in those subjects.

Students who didn’t meet state guidelines for proficiency on both the reading and math end-of-grade tests are given priority. Also included are students who missed the mark on one of the tests and students who passed, but with low scores.

“We’re just trying to give them a little bit of extra help for next year,” said Sarah Hensley, director of elementary education. “We’re trying to make sure that we do everything to get them ready.”

School system officials feel that of the 1,563 fourth-graders taking end-of-grade tests, 442 — or 28 percent — can benefit from the summer program.

North Rowan Elementary School has the highest number of fourth-graders officials want to attend the program, at 42. Elizabeth Hanford-Dole Elementary, with 41, and China Grove Elementary, with 40, are next.

Hanford-Dole has the highest percentage of fourth-graders invited to the program, at 53.9 percent. Overton Elementary, with 34.7 percent, and North Elementary, with 34.1 percent, follow.

Sharon Deal, director of middle school education, said about 230 sixth-grade students have been offered the summer program, but she didn’t have a breakdown by school.

The system has 1,589 sixth-graders this year, but Deal didn’t know Friday how many of those were required to take the tests.

The programs will be offered at every school this year, so students won’t have to go too far from home to attend, officials said. And class sizes will be held to 15 students per teacher.

The program, which will focus on math and reading, runs June 8-30, with four hours of instruction each day. The school system offers transportation for students attending.

At the end of the program, teachers will evaluate students and document their progress.

While the sessions aren’t required, they are “highly recommended” for students who need extra help to pass through the Gateways beginning next year, Deal said.