For years, summer school has meant students trudging off to classes while their friends went to the pool or basketball court.
By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
For years, summer school has meant students trudging off to classes while their friends went to the pool or basketball court.
But for the past few years, Princeton High School has used an online summer school program, with students taking the self-guided courses they need to make up credit because they failed a class. This summer, 15 students eight girls and seven boys have been taking courses online offered through virtual learning company Educere, according to the district.
In Princeton, the courses “usually” are not taken in the high school, said principal Gary Snyder on Friday. Mr. Snyder, in a phone interview, explained that students may take a maximum of two courses that run from July until the middle of August.
He said courses are “rigorous,” as students must do coursework, get tested and receive a grade that gets reported to the high school guidance department. Courses generally offered are biology, Earth science, algebra, geometry, U.S. history and physical education and health, he said. At Princeton High School, students need 120 credits to graduate; typically, one class is worth five credits.
”Providing a second opportunity for students to complete the required course during the summer gives them an opportunity to stay on target with all of their graduation requirements in order to graduate on time,” said Bonnie Lehet, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, in an email Monday.
She said staff are able to monitor students through a secure user ID and password.
Asked how online summer school has worked, Mr. Snyder responded, “We’re still looking at that.” He said that for some, the independent study of individualized learning works well for some students, but not so well for others who need the motivation of a teacher present.
School districts have latitude when it comes to developing summer school.
”The curriculum is decided locally by the school district,” said Michael Yaple, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, in an email Friday. “The state ensures students are meeting core standards, but it doesn’t dictate to local districts the method or the textbooks or technology the district must use. That’s a local decision.”
The district, in part, did away with traditional summer school due to “budgetary constraints,” he said.
Ms. Lehet said that in 2010, Gov. Chris Christie proposed budgets cuts that school districts struggled to make and “an unfortunately lost programs such as summer school courses.” To continue providing these “learning opportunities,” she said the high school “reviewed a variety of options and found a set of online courses that would give students an opportunity to re-take the course during the summer rather than to repeat the course during the school year.”
She said the approach has been used in other districts. As an alternative to online courses, students could opt to attend summer school in another high school but they must pay tuition. This year, none of the 15 students chose that option.
In Princeton, students must bear the cost of paying for summer school, at around $200 per course, Mr. Snyder said. û