COVID 19 and Summer School

Written By: Isabelle Saunders

By now, it’s a known fact that distance learning is not nearly as effective as being in a classroom. For students constrained to homebound learning through the 2020-21 school year in addition to the last quarter of last year, this has been a frustrating season fraught with unorthodox challenges. The majority of students feel that they haven’t learned much at all, and have lost over a year of information. How, comes the question, will they catch up for next year? 

Rising necessity of summer school 

In response, there has been a mass exodus to summer school. Though it’s currently too early to tell how many people will sign up this year, smaller-scale examples indicate the sheer volume of students who feel they have a shaky understanding of concepts learned from home. Montgomery, Alabama, for instance, has an average count of 2,500 for summer school in past years. This year, over 12,000 of their school system’s 28,000 students signed up. With public schools opening up for in-person learning, these students can finally get face-to-face education for the first time since March 2020. It may take some getting used to after so long at home, but students are elated to be back to normal. 

New Improvements 

And like most things this year, summer school is not going to be normal. This time, however, that means in a good way- across the country, the school system has given teachers hefty raises for all the hard work they’re going to have to put in this summer. The most recent federal relief package has also funneled several billion dollars into summer school programs. With these new fortifications, educators agree that summer school 2021 will be better and more intensive than past years by a wide margin in order to meet the significant needs of the student body. 

Meeting Need 

Though policies vary from state to state, many are prioritizing the needs of students who were hit the hardest. This includes disadvantaged, disabled, and ESL children. Some school districts have opted for mandatory summer school for those who have fallen behind. With the recent relief package, many districts are able to provide meals and transportation for their students. Though educators are not so naive as to think that better quality summer education will patch every learning gap acquired over distance learning or before it, they are optimistic that it will at least give students a much better understanding and send them into next year with a foundation. 

In the past, summer school has been stigmatized as a thing of doom to students, something many would never willingly do. Now, however, many students are making the mature decision themselves to catch up as much as possible. Teachers plan to meet students where they are, and take a more personalized approach depending on each child’s unique needs. Since they themselves battled the frustrations of online learning, they empathize with their struggling students. This year’s summer school, it seems, will be a thing to behold. 

Is summer school a good option for your child?

If you’re thinking about signing your child up for summer school, you should first evaluate how they performed over distance learning. If their grades and understanding dropped a worrying amount, summer school is a great, free option to mend the rips as much as possible before next year. Consult your child on the matter as well- for those who haven’t been in a classroom for over a year, it may be in their best interest to be socialized over the summer. This poses an edifying opportunity to meet new people, reconnect with school friends, and get a feel for being back in a solid school setting.

For more information, check out the link below: 

https://apnews.com/article/us-news-coronavirus-pandemic-education-health-a0416b3d43e08f49879b0f0e93010113