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As another pandemic-affected school year comes to an end, administrators are hoping expanded summer school options with more in-person instruction than the spring semester can help to make up what鈥檚 been lost for some students in the past year.
Officials in both Prince William County and Manassas said they wouldn鈥檛 know how many students either opt in for summer learning or need it for credit recovery until the end of the spring semester, but the county will have more summer sites open than in a typical year.
Administrators in both systems expect more students than usual will be behind on at least some important academic skills. At the end of 2020, before county students could return to in-person learning, testing showed a drop in reading proficiency across elementary schools. And during the fall semester, the system saw a dramatic increase in the number of students failing two or more classes at the high school level.
The basic premise of summer school will remain the same this year: For elementary and middle schoolers, it鈥檚 mostly about getting up to speed in terms of reading and then mathematics, as those two subjects build on each other from year to year and reading skills are necessary to keep up with other subjects. For high schoolers, it鈥檚 about 鈥渃redit recovery,鈥� or securing credits in subjects that a student may have failed in order to stay on track for graduation.
The scale will be bigger though. Dara Dugger, the county school system鈥檚 director of student management and alternative programs, said that in a typical year about 15 elementary school sites and five middle school sites are open for the summer. This year, there will be 22 elementary sites and seven middle, with one high school operating for credit recovery.
鈥淏ased on everything that鈥檚 going on we figured there鈥檇 be more [students] than usual, but we鈥檙e really not sure. We just know it鈥檚 open to anyone and everyone who needs assistance, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e preparing ourselves for,鈥� Dugger told InsideNoVa.
Summer school in the county will feel different in another significant way: All levels will have students in the classroom five days a week. Families of kindergarten through eighth-grade students who may need additional instruction will be contacted directly by their schools, but all who feel they need to catch up can attend.
In Manassas, kindergarten through eighth-grade students who attend summer school will be in the classroom five days a week, a departure from the hybrid learning the system is currently using. Still, as with the current spring semester, high schoolers will be attending virtually, although SOL 鈥渂oot camps鈥� to prepare students for their standardized tests will be held in person.
Manassas schools are working on a plan for all levels to return to classrooms full time come fall, details of which should be finalized at the city鈥檚 school board meeting next week. The Prince William School Board was set to discuss the county鈥檚 plans for five-day-a-week in-person learning in the fall at its meeting Wednesday night.
鈥淲e anticipate that some of our students will have new or widened instructional gaps,鈥� said Melissa Saunders, director of student achievement for Manassas schools. 鈥淲hen they鈥檙e back in person, there will be some opportunity for teachers to assess and look at the data that we may or may not have on those students and try to figure out how to pinpoint what it is that the student needs to have.鈥�
In crafting the plan for fully reopening the city鈥檚 schools next fall, administrators acknowledge that the full scale of how much needs to be made up won鈥檛 be fully understood until all students are back in the classroom. The division has put together a task force on reopening made up of staff from around the division. It鈥檚 focused on math and literacy, 鈥渟ince those skills transcend other content and build on one another annually,鈥� Saunders said.
County officials are also planning to address losses that go beyond academic performance and learning during the summer. School counselors and social workers will be attached to every summer school grade, working with students.
For students between kindergarten and eighth grade, a portion of the day is devoted to reading, a portion of the day is devoted to math, and then there鈥檚 a social-emotional component of the day.
鈥淲e understand that sometimes students, when your confidence isn鈥檛 there, your self-esteem, things that you鈥檙e going through 鈥� impact your ability to learn. So we want to make sure that we鈥檙e not only just saying, 鈥楧o your math, read these books,鈥欌�� Dugger said.
鈥淭here are various lessons counselors and social workers will provide, a range from making friends, how do you have conversations about your goals,鈥� she added. 鈥淎nd for the little ones that might be just an opportunity to talk about a topic that鈥檚 near and dear to them and maybe relating to another student, just so that you have a connection with someone else because we haven鈥檛 been able to do much of that.鈥�
