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In-Person Summer School Options Return In July For Some San Antonio Districts

School supplies
Nick Amoscato | Flickr Creative Commons
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Flickr Creative Commons

San Antonio’s two largest school districts, Northside and North East, are offering expanded summer school offerings in July and August to help make up for disruptions caused by schools closing in the spring. Both school districts plan to hold in-person lessons at least part of the time.

North East’s re-engagement program will be offered at the district’s28 Title I schools, which have a higher concentration of poverty. Northside’sJumpStart program will be open to all students in pre-k through 8th grade.  

North East Spokeswoman Aubrey Chancellor said in an email that the goal of the district’s re-engagement program is to help students “get back up to speed before the fall,” and that “students who may need a little extra help will be identified and invited.”

Janis Jordan, deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction at Northside, said the JumpStart program won’t be remedial, but it will give students the opportunity “to revisit some things that maybe they need more work on.”

“We think this will give an opportunity, again, for any and every student to come, get hooked back in, hopefully in person, and to be able to work on things that interest them, and then have a smooth transition to the beginning of the school year,” Jordan said, adding that the focus will be on fun lessons that address students' social and emotional needs.

Jordan said Northside will also hold its special education extended learning program in person in July.

San Antonio ISD spokeswoman Leslie Price said SAISD is also making plans for an in-person summer school starting July 20. Price said the program was still being finalized, but that it would be “for those with the most need for academic support,” with options to complete the coursework on campus or remotely.

“Additionally, we plan to have opportunities in June through July for seniors who need extra time to get industry-based certifications they’ve been working toward.  The program is voluntary, with students being able to come in through the summer, following strict safety protocols,” Price said in an email.

Northside, North East and SAISD also have virtual summer school options available in June, including mandatory credit recovery. Other San Antonio school districts,including Judson ISD, have opted against in-person lessons this summer.

Safety Protocols

To help keep students and staff safe from the coronavirus, Jordan said Northside will limit class sizes to nine students and one teacher. Desks will be 6 feet apart and everyone will be required to wear face coverings. Students will eat meals in their classroom.

Chancellor said North East will have a maximum of 11 people per classroom, and all adults will be required to wear masks when they are around others. The district is also encouraging students to wear masks unless they are too young or have a disability that makes a face covering inappropriate.

Both districts also plan to screen students daily for signs of COVID-19. North East plans to take temperatures using touchless thermometers.

Camille Phillips can be reached at Camille@tpr.org or on Twitter at@cmpcamille.

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Camille Phillips can be reached at camille@tpr.org or on Instagram at camille.m.phillips. TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your gift of support today.