VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach City Public Schools is already offering a face-to-face learning option to students, and Chief Academics Officer Kipp Rogers says that will be no different during summer school. What will be different are the other programs the city will offer.
"Time is of the essence, and there may have been opportunities missed as a result of not having as much time in a physical sense, so we're looking forward to opportunities for students to boost their learning," said Rogers.
The city is expanding summer school from kindergarten through second to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at the elementary level, but that's just the beginning.
"Virtual opportunity for students that they'll have every week. They'll have access to literacy and numeracy lessons. We have a component that's designed specifically for parents to support them at home in addition to the help they get from the school."
Rogers said a similar program will be available for middle and high school students.
"What's different this year as a result of COVID, we are providing an opportunity for virtual learning bridge courses to offer students additional support to be successful in the next grade level, particularly in math and science," he said.
The city will also provide financial resources for site-based programs to support students in their communities. Rogers said these programs come on with the last year in mind.
"We've learned so much in terms of how we prepare students," Rogers said. "This is our second summer that we're looking at learning a little bit differently. We're building upon the input we received to do some things differently."
The city said it's currently in the early planning stages of soliciting teachers for summer school learning.