VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Governor Ralph Northam is encouraging all school divisions to offer in-person learning options by March 15. Along with that, he's suggesting possibly less fun in the sun for students.
The Governor wants to expand summer learning programs.
Summer school won’t be mandatory, but Hampton Roads School Division leaders are going to increase their program opportunities to reach more students who need a learning boost.
“We are committed to serving individual students,” said Chesapeake Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton.
Cotton, along with Virginia Beach Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence, said they started planning summer programs long before the Governor’s announcement.
“We are certainly doing more planning for more intensive summer programming.”
Many students are playing catchup this school year.
Recent data from the Virginia Department of Education shows a majority of school divisions are seeing a high percentage of students in middle and high school failing two or more classes compared to last year.
More young learners are labeled as high risk for reading failure.
“Literacy is a fundamental skill that has to be developed,” Dr. Spence said. “And that is harder, not impossible, but harder to do in virtual learning. And that is why we are seeing more students who are not demonstrating all of the level of readiness that we may have seen in the past. More of our younger students.”
In a letter to Virginia superintendents on Friday, Governor Northam said additional learning opportunities could include extensive summer classes, remediation, additional instructional time, or even year-round schooling.
Both superintendents said they’ll expand summer class offerings, but they are actively working with students now.
“We want to make sure that we assessed our students immediately and started addressing those weak areas,” said Dr. Cotton. “Not waiting until summertime.”
Virginia Beach Education Association President Kelly Walker thinks summer learning will benefit students but worries recruiting teachers won’t be easy.
“There is a lot of burnout and we are very concerned already that there is a teacher shortage,” Walker said. “We are concerned that folks are not going to want to work over the summer as well, and then prepare for the fall. That remains to be seen. Hopefully, with the funding from the federal level, they can offer a hefty stipend.”
After a tough year, Walker has chosen to retire.
“I tried to do a lot for public education both in the classroom and in this role,” Walker said. “I hope I left it better than I found it.”
Governor Northam said divisions can tap into CARES Act funds. Families can choose to opt-in.
“If we come to a parent and say, 'Look, we really think your child can benefit from summer school,' that is not going to be a surprise to them,” Dr. Cotton said. “Because we’ve been communicating throughout the year.”