Many students have shifted from in-person learning to remote learning (and back) over the last year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact communities.
Some districts are now launching wide-ranging summer school programs in hopes of addressing learning loss.
Rockford Public Schools already has about 1,700 students enrolled in its programming, which has different models and programs based on need.
"We're going to take care of transportation and meals. We want every kid to have the opportunity to participate if they want to, and we've built our programming, so that there is something for everyone at the K-12 level," said Assistant Superintendent Mike Ramm.
From targeted courses to enrichment programs that function more like outdoor camps to credit recovery for high schoolers, Ramm says the district has reworked its summer school.
"We're thinking of a different than traditional summer school, we are trying to engage students in active and interesting learning, as well as targeted areas of literacy and math for K-8," Ramm said.
At Kelloggsville Public Schools, there's increased interest in the district's summer school.
"We've got more students than we've ever had before," said Jeff Owen, the district's director of instruction.
Owen said he believes it's due in part to the expansion of the program and also the fact that some students have been remote for the last year.
"They want to get back to school, they want to be with their friends and socialize and do all the things that we do in a normal school year, so that's probably part of it as well," Owen said.
All of Kelloggsville's programs are free and open to all students. The K-8 eight-week programs start June 7.
Registration has not yet closed as parents continue to show interest, Owen said. At the elementary level, there are plans to incorporate things like robotics and a visit from the John Ball Travel Zoo.
"It's going to be more than just, you know, students sitting in their seats and learning," Owen said.
Grand Rapids Public Schools has several offerings for summer, including a five-week Summer of Success program and the at-home GRASP program, which can be utilized by students anywhere. Muskegon Heights Public Schools has an eight-week summer program starting in late June with a variety of offerings, including culinary arts and fashion design programs.
Many districts have their own plans, but to supplement the Kent Intermediate School District is offering a second year of Summer Brain Gain, which was designed to help students learn through short online courses.
The two-week elective courses are taught by local instructors in all grade levels, including one called From Startup to Shark Tank. Over 1,300 students enrolled last summer. The course registration begins June 1 and classes start in mid-July.
"We want to give folks time off from school, but if you want to get enrichment going over that mid-summertime, when things start to slow down at home, you've got an option that you can get registered for," said Mark Raffler, Kent ISD Education Consultant.
KISD also partners with Kent District Libraries and Grand Rapids Public Libraries to distribute learning packets for those who don't have access to online resources.
At RPS, Ramm said he expects this level of summer school offerings to continue in years to come. The district has also created a Rockford Reading Bus that will visit neighborhoods weekly for free to connect students with books and promote literacy.
"I certainly think that that idea of offering opportunities to learn during the summer was a catalyst, you know, brought on by the pandemic, maybe one of those good things that happened, but this is definitely something that's here to stay," Ramm said.
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