It’s not your usual time of year for studies, but some Edmonds School District students, yearning for learning, are taking advantage of summer school.
Once only open to students who had failed a required course, students now can look to the summer session as a means to get a jump on studies.
The session is short and accelerated, running July 6 through Aug. 12 this year.
An online element makes summer school even more appealing to a broader range of students, according to district officials.
“Eighth-graders are getting a jump start on ninth grade,” said Sam Gladstein, coordinator of the district’s eLearning Program.
The online option also is open to students throughout the year as their primary way of attending school or as part of a hybrid curriculum blending online learning with classroom time.
“Some students have challenges attending school due to illness, anxiety, travel, athletics or they have been expelled,” said Katie Bjornstad, a veteran teacher of 15 years who has taught students online for four years. “It’s another option for education to help kids be successful.”
This is the third summer online courses have been offered. The only difference between the school year and summer session is that there is a fee charged for summer courses, $200 per class, which covers the costs of running the program. Students can take no more than two classes.
Last summer, 130 students enrolled in 203 online summer school classes, according to Gladstein. The record enrollment was attributed to scholarship funds that were available for students making up credits in 11th- and 12th-grade math and science.
This summer, 67 students are enrolled in 100 online classes. More than one-third of those courses are being taken for new credits.
Leah Alexseev, 17, of Edmonds, is one of the students taking advantage of eLearning this summer. It’s going so well she intends to continue the program in the fall.
Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, Leah gets distracted in school. She is in her fourth year of high school, and is a year behind in course work.
“Online is the only good choice,” she said. “In school, I’m chatty. I focus on friends more than school. ELearning is refreshing. I just do my work; I’m not sitting in class being confused.”
Alexseev got her first three As in the eLearning program.
“ELearning has changed her life,” said Jane Anne Wilder, Alexseev’s mother. “She has been struggling since second grade. I was skeptical, but I cannot argue with success.”
Teachers at the helm
Courses are taught virtually by district teachers. Many have been with the program since its inception.
“For teachers, there is a lot of management,” Gladstein said. “At any one time they can be working with kids in eight sections of English. Plus they have to establish a rapport over email.”
Bjornstad, for example, is wrangling 30 full-time students.
“Once I take the classroom management out of the equation, I’m more of a coach,” she said. “A lot of these students just don’t connect with a classroom teacher. It is assumed these kids are not smart. They are, they just can’t deal with the distractions.”
Overall, Bjornstad says, students are doing the work and are figuring out how to be organized and scheduling time to do the work.
Online differences
The nature of online learning requires approaching the subject matter differently to ensure success, Gladstein said.
Not being seat-based with a face-to-face orientation gives students the flexibility they need over the summer to complete a course while on vacation, traveling or working.
“The program is flexible, but students need to spend 10 to 15 hours a week on studies,” Bjornstad said. “It works best for self-motivated kids — kids who just like to sit and do their work without the distractions of a classroom setting.”
Student’s questions are posed differently through email.
“You have to be good at asking for help and be an active learner, not an observer,” Gladstein said. “By nature, courses are text-based with some video. You can’t be technology challenged, and you have to check email often.”
Parents are also challenged to keep up with their student’s progress. Weekly emails to parents keep them abreast of completed and upcoming tasks.
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