Each fall, teachers and school administrators brace themselves for that inevitable “summer slide” – the time during July and August when students’ math and reading skills slow down while families enjoy the summer months away from school.
However, now experts predict that we may see an even greater COVID-19 slide happen once students return to their classrooms in the fall after spending their spring months in remote learning.
Preliminary COVID slide estimates suggest students will return in fall 2020 with roughly 70% of the learning gains in reading relative to a typical school year. However, in mathematics, students are likely to show much smaller learning gains, returning with less than 50% of the learning gains and in some grades, nearly a full year behind what we would observe in normal conditions. - The Collaborative for Student Growth at NWEA
So, as parents and teachers rush to bridge this new COVID-19 slide, many schools are preparing to meet the needs of families by providing online summer programs. The following are the many benefits for students to enroll in summer classes and programs over the summer.
Extra Academic Support
Whether your town will resume summer classes on campus or remotely, any additional academic support is beneficial. Schools that offer summer programs generally enroll fewer children than they do during the school year. So, students who normally thrive better in smaller groups and with less distractions may also benefit from a summer course or program. Here, students may be more comfortable working in smaller groups or with their instructors one-on-one.
Reinforce Core Classes
Taking a summer class is also beneficial to reinforce a core subject that a student may have struggled with during the regular school year. Some may find their world language class challenging and seek to brush up on their skill. Others may find themselves applying the motto, “practice makes progress,” to their core classes such as math or ELA classes, even over the summer, to keep up with their grade level. And, inevitably, during this COVID-19 remote learning time, some students may feel they need reinforcement before moving to the next level in the fall.
Expanded Student Interest
As COVID-19 continues to spring many unknowns on us all, expanding your experience with different subjects keeps options open for students everywhere. For example, Oak Knoll’s Summer Scholars Program offers students glimpses into a variety of core and extra-curricular topics online as well as its Career Series, which dives into different medical and intelligence community professions. Whatever the subject may be, it’s always a good idea for students to broaden their experiences with different classes or programs.
So, as students being to wrap up their school remote school years due to COVID-19, enrolling in a summer program or course is more vital than ever before. With the virus still in circulation, summer vacations are looking vastly different, anyway. Not only will an online summer course or program fill up this stagnant time, it will bolster the infamous summer slide while reinforcing any learning that was lost during remote school.
Learn More about Online Summer Programs at Oak Knoll
