{"id":11485,"date":"2012-08-14T08:04:09","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T12:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=11485"},"modified":"2016-01-15T13:28:35","modified_gmt":"2016-01-15T18:28:35","slug":"no-summer-school-means-some-students-repeat-a-grade-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/08\/14\/no-summer-school-means-some-students-repeat-a-grade-this-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"No Summer School Means Some Students Repeat a Grade This Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_11489\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/08\/14\/no-summer-school-means-some-students-repeat-a-grade-this-fall\/virtual-school\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11489\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11489\" title=\"Virtual School\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Virtual-School--300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Virtual-School--300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Virtual-School--620x465.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Sarah Gonzalez \/ StateImpact Florida<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vanessa Richter, 17, works on her online summer course as her friends eat lunch at a food court.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Last year, Luis Gonzalez failed freshman English, Algebra and Physical Science. When he starts school later this month, he&#8217;ll still be considered a freshman.<\/p>\n<p>His school has a different name for it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They call it a \u2018fresh-more,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBy years I&#8217;m a sophomore. But I&#8217;m going to have freshman classes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Gonzalez thought he could make up the classes during summer school.<\/p>\n<p>But summer school wasn\u2019t an option for the Pasco County student.<\/p>\n<p>Because of budget cuts, Florida\u2019s largest school districts say they cannot offer summer school to everyone who needs it.<\/p>\n<p>Only some students get to attend \u2013 and juniors and seniors are the priority in counties such as Pasco, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Orange and Duval.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now it\u2019s going to be kind of embarrassing going to school because my homeroom is going to be with all freshmen,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI&#8217;m not going to have any classes with friends, but I guess it&#8217;ll teach me a lesson.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It may teach the 16-year-old to do better in school next year.<\/p>\n<p>But having few summer school options also makes it harder for Gonzalez to catch up to his peers. The risk is that he keeps falling behind.<\/p>\n\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fewer Summer Options\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By law, Florida districts aren&#8217;t required to offer any summer school \u2013 with one exception. Districts must offer a summer reading camp to third graders who failed the FCAT reading exam.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, most districts have cut back on their summer school options.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"related-content alignleft\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2011\/09\/09\/broward-schools-face-thier-toughest-budget-yet-will-other-districts-be-next\/\">Broward Schools Face Largest Budget Deficit in State; Effect on Other Districts Unclear<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/08\/06\/students-learning-english-get-extra-reading-help-at-summer-camp\/\">Students Learning English Get Extra Reading Help At Summer\u00a0Camp<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/05\/14\/why-its-harder-for-college-students-to-get-financial-aid-this-summer\/\">Why It\u2019s Harder for College Students to Get Financial Aid This Summer<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/06\/Stacy-Soriano-Student.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/topic\/summer-school-2\/\">Why Summer School is Not an Option for Many Students<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>Ella Shanks is in charge of curriculum in Orange County. She says summer school is no longer for every student.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe purpose of our summer school at the high school level is graduation,\u201d she said. &#8220;So we focused on students who needed credits in order to graduate with their cohorts on time. We want to make sure that that&#8217;s given priority.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Broward County offers no summer school at all. In the nation\u2019s sixth largest school district, there\u2019s only night school for high school students, and those night classes are all online.<\/p>\n<p>Tampa also offers night school to some high school students, but again, it\u2019s based on seniority.<\/p>\n<p>In Orlando and Miami, there are also summer options for 6th, 7th and 8th graders who are at risk of not being promoted to middle or high school.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Districts Save by Cutting Summer School<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 2008, the last year Miami-Dade offered summer school to everyone, it spent $16.7 million.\u00a0The cost of the reduced summer options it offers now is $5 million.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11491\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/08\/14\/no-summer-school-means-some-students-repeat-a-grade-this-fall\/stacy-soriano-student\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11491\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11491\" title=\"Stacy Soriano, Student\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Stacy-Soriano-Student-e1344884552317-300x291.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Stacy-Soriano-Student-e1344884552317-300x291.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Stacy-Soriano-Student-e1344884552317-620x602.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Sarah Gonzalez \/ StateImpact Florida<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacy Soriano, 17, is re-taking Algebra II virtually this summer. Summer school was not an option for the Miami-Dade student.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Rising senior Stacy Soriano says she knows schools are facing tough budget cuts. Still, she thinks struggling students should get face time with a teacher over the summer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I would not cut summer school for kids who failed a class,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The 17-year-old failed Algebra II at Terra Environmental Research Institute in Miami, so she&#8217;s re-taking the class online through Florida Virtual School.<\/p>\n<p>Virtual school teachers are not required to be online at the same time their students are.<\/p>\n<p>If Soriano needs help with a math problem she calls or texts her teacher.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sometimes she&#8217;ll get back to me in 10 minutes. Sometimes she&#8217;ll get back to me in like 2, 3 days.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s almost the end of her summer break and Soriano is only half way done with the online course.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For somebody who failed, they need a teacher right there by them,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause they failed it for a reason and it just makes it really, really hard to have to pace yourself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is Florida Virtual School Replacing Summer School?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the start of the summer break,\u00a0students enrolled in 141,579 Virtual School courses in June.\u00a0That&#8217;s up from 85,252 courses in June 2011.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&#8217;t mean students completed each of those courses &#8211; just that they enrolled. Students may have dropped the courses or not yet completed them.<\/p>\n<p>Student enrollment in Virtual School during the school year isn&#8217;t as high.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2011 &#8212; just before the start of the spring semester &#8212; \u00a0students enrolled in 19,182 Virtual School courses.<\/p>\n<p>More than 148,000 students completed online courses through the Florida Virtual School this year. That\u2019s up from 122,000 students the year before.<\/p>\n<p>But it is hard to tease out how much of that increase is due to fewer summer school options at the district level.<\/p>\n<p>The spike in enrollment may be attributed to a new law requiring all 9th grade students to enroll in at least one Virtual School course before the end of their first year of high school.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Updated 8\/14\/2010 at 3:07pm<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Robin Winder is what you would call a superintendent of Florida Virtual School. She works closely with districts to fill the needs of students during the school year and the summer.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11493\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/08\/14\/no-summer-school-means-some-students-repeat-a-grade-this-fall\/florida-virtual-school-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11493\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11493\" title=\"Florida Virtual School\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Florida-Virtual-School-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Florida-Virtual-School-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Florida-Virtual-School-620x465.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Sarah Gonzalez \/ StateImpact Florida<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">District officials say Florida Virtual School is filling some of the void left by cash-strapped districts that can no longer offer summer school to everyone.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;We do see a spike in the summer,\u201d she said. \u201cWe definitely want kids to have choices. That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But when districts start limiting their summer school options, students say online classes become less of a choice and more like a last resort.<\/p>\n<p>Jody Gaver is the guidance director at JP Taravela High school in Broward County. She says online classes are replacing traditional summer school.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVirtual school is the best option for students but it\u2019s really hard,\u201d she said.\u201d A lot go in and don\u2019t finish so they do need other options.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Students like rising senior Vanessa Richter, say online classes are a good opportunity to get ahead over the summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I really don\u2019t think it\u2019s ideal for someone who failed a class,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>If it was her only option to retake a class over the summer, Richter says she would hire a tutor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t just do it without the teacher being there,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you\u2019re doing radicals or something with math, they can\u2019t write it out over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last year, Luis Gonzalez failed freshman English, Algebra and Physical Science. When he starts school later this month, he&#8217;ll still be considered a freshman. His school has a different name for it. &#8220;They call it a \u2018fresh-more,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBy years I&#8217;m a sophomore. But I&#8217;m going to have freshman classes.&#8221; Gonzalez thought he could [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[1036,1125,525],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11485"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24162,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11485\/revisions\/24162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}