Summer School-Yeah Right!

The Extended School Year program I facilitated this summer was located at a Atlanta Public School High School this year. This was the first time the North Metro Program was placed in another building for ESY. The transition was not only difficult for our students with Special needs, but also for our staff who were accustomed to the procedures of the program. This blog is not about the difficult transition that took place at the High School, but what I saw at the school. The APS school was a summer site for the district, so many students from all over APS traveled to attend summer school at this particular High school. The very first day was chaotic, to say the least, but that is to be expected. However, as the weeks progressed and the schedules for the students started to streamline; the picture was self-explanatory. I witnessed teachers spending their entire time outside of their classroom in the hallways laughing and talking with their colleagues while the students worked on computers. Now and then, the teacher would assist a student but majority of the time was spent in the hallways making more noise than the students in the classrooms. Where is the instruction? Were students being cheated of real teaching? Moreover, why was this okay from the high school’s administration?  Summer school can be the breaking point for most students but why not make it worth it to the students. It should not matter how and why they needed to re-take the course; all that matters is that they are re-taking the course so they can further their path towards graduation. As a parent, I would be very disappointed in those particular teachers in their non-educational behaviors that were exhibited during summer school. So the question is, is summer school worth it?

By
Kiska Threatt