Anchorage School District leaders say summer school is an opportunity to gain math and reading skills — and to boost students’ confidence — after two years of the pandemic.
Middle school teacher Melanie Franklin helps Sophia Dressner as she plays an online vocabulary game on June 16, 2022. Franklin says games like these help keep students engaged during summer school. Melanie Franklin’s summer school class at Hanshew Middle School only had nine students in it on a recent Thursday morning, but it was action-packed.
Last year, the Anchorage School District ramped up summer programming in response to pandemic learning loss. It was the first time in several years they’d held intensive summer programs. This year, nearly 8,000 students are enrolled. That includes 2,000 elementary schoolers, 1,000 middle schoolers and 3,500 high schoolers, plus a few hundred other students in special programs. Attendance varies, especially on Fridays, when many families go out of town for long weekends. Nearly 1,000 district employees are staffing the programs.
The district is spending $7.6 million on summer programs. Funds come from federal COVID grants and money the district already had in its budget for summer programming. Deputy Superintendent Mark Stock said, in the fall, the district will compare math and reading scores of students who attended summer school and those who didn’t. That will help them decide whether the investment was worth it.
“The pandemic loss is real, and it’s not going to come back in 21 days of summer school,” Stock said. “It’s going to take a concerted effort over time, and this is just one strategy.”