Ohio districts expanding summer school programs
As the school year winds down, Ohio school districts are looking ahead to summer programs to give students extra learning opportunities amid an unprecedented year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Columbus City Schools, that means a chance for students to be among their peers and educators in-person for four days a week — something that hasn’t happened in more than a year.
“This is an opportunity for our students to get back in the buildings, to get back to some normalcy,” said Emma Corbin, principal of Ecole Kenwood French Immersion School.
More than 2,000 students have already enrolled in Columbus City Schools’ summer programming, as of last week. The district hopes to enroll about 10,000 students, nearly three times as many as its typical 3,500 to 3,700 attendees, Corbin said.
Many districts in the state and across the nation are adding programs to their summer classes and expecting an uptick in student enrollment. Some classes are intended to fill in learning gaps from a year of mostly remote school. But others aim to offer students opportunities to partake in educational activities and social opportunities that were made impossible by the pandemic.
Antoinette Miranda, interim chair of Ohio State University’s Department of Teaching and Learning and a member of the state Board of Education, said she expects that this year’s programming
More than 2,000 students have already enrolled in Columbus City Schools’ summer programming, as of last week. The district hopes to enroll about 10,000 students, nearly three times as many as its typical 3,500 to 3,700 attendees
will look different than what some might envision when they think of summer school.
In addition to extra time to focus on academics, many schools are using summer to support students’ social, emotional and mental health and to get them excited about learning in new ways.
“I have no doubt that an extra six or eight weeks in a classroom will help kids catch up on some skills they may have missed,” Miranda said. “But COVID-19 hasn’t just affected students academically. We also have to address those other issues.”
Columbus City Schools spokeswoman Jacqueline Bryant said its summer programs will help all participating students get back into a routine of in-person learning. That includes supporting children who struggled with school work during the pandemic, or students who may want to work ahead.
The state’s largest school district is offering a wide variety of summer activities at all grade levels. Students in grades K-5, for instance, can participate in camps on a range of topics from science to nature. Kids in those grades will also be able to go on field trips to Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and COSI, which has been closed for more than a year because of the pandemic and is slated to reopen June 3.
High school students will have the option to do a social-justice impact project focused on solving real-world problems. Students can also take classes to earn physical education or science credit.
“We didn’t want to do the traditional ‘bell rings and I go to my next class,’” said Kenton Lee, director of secondary curriculum for Columbus schools. “We really didn’t want to approach summer school from a deficit mindset.”
Many districts, however, including Columbus, have cited summer programming as a key strategy for addressing learning loss related to the pandemic. As of April 1, all schools were required to submit “extended learning plans” to the Ohio Department of Education.
Bexley, another school district that referenced summer programming in its plan, will offer more than 60 in-person courses this summer from June 7 through July 30, with such titles as “Express your Mess,” Hands on Math,” “Instagram Worthy Handwriting 101” and “How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse.” Students with academic concerns will also be invited to participate in courses focused on learning recovery.
Dublin school district is offering two sessions of summer classes, from June 1 to June 25 and June 28 to July 23, said Lori Marple, the district’s K-12 curriculum coordinator.
“We see our summer learning as an opportunity to provide some consistency for our students after a year that may feel inconsistent to families, and to front-load our students in thinking about how we build upon their strengths as we go into a new school year,” Marple said.
Hilliard has room for nearly 2,000 students for its summer school program, said Cori Kindl, director of professional development for the district.
Hilliard school district is starting a new intervention program for math and reading for students in grades K-8. The district is also offering classes geared toward students’ interests in such areas as art, coding, music and STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math.
“We want to make sure that our programming is inclusive of all our kids and that we’re intentionally meeting all of the different needs that kids may have as a result of the pandemic,” Kindl said.
Westerville school district is also preparing a new summer program called “Ignite” that would offer performance-based learning in areas such as life skills, creative arts, outdoor activities and cultural awareness. The classes, however, would not be for credit.