Bye-Bye Summer Break?

June 3, 2021

Due to setbacks caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, many students across the nation have fallen behind in their education. Many schools had a late start to the 2020-2021 school year which, combined with the challenges of being partially or 100% virtual depending on the school district, made it more difficult for students and teachers to cover all the education requirements in the curriculum.

In early January, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam proposed a possible solution to this problem, suggesting the idea of having “year-round schooling,” or at least a summer school session, in order for students to prepare for the 2021-2022 school year.

“One of the things we are entertaining is perhaps year-round schooling for the next year. Perhaps adding increasing days this summer to really help our kids get caught up,¨ Northam said in January. At the time Northam announced the idea it was uncertain exactly how this would play out or if it will happen at all.

However, by the end of March it had become apparent that Northam’s concept of year-round schooling was unlikely to follow the traditional model, but was more likely to simply mean requiring districts to offer an optional summer school session in 2021.

A solution that Fluvanna County Public Schools came up with is a plan to ensure that all students are given a chance at graduating. At the end of the first semester, FCHS sent out over 200 letters to parents to invite their child to summer school. Students invited to attend summer school typically finished the class they failed with a grade in the range of 50-64 in at least one of their core classes: Math, Science, English, and History. No electives will be available for summer school as most of them are not required for graduation.

The summer school program will be a four-week program held between June 21 through July 15. The classes will be held from 8 am to Noon, Monday through Thursday. If a student fails a class required for graduation and does not attend summer school, they will need to make up the class sometime throughout high school. If they do not make up the class, they will not be eligible for graduation.