At Greenwood Elementary, school isn’t exactly out for the summer. The hallways are crowded, the dining hall is noisy, and hands go up as impatient students wait to be called. It’s the second week of summer school.
“I’m telling you, it’s been so exciting to be able to bring students across the district, into all the communities to be able to have students in the classrooms again, to be able to have summer learning,” Michelle Dillard , the assistant superintendent of teaching and learning at JCPS, said.
JCPS says this is the highest number of registrations they have had. More than 10,000 students participate in a dozen different programs, even learning to fencing and play chess, thanks to the Summer Backpack League and LIT programs.
“I like how they do fun activities, but we also learn,” said future fourth-grader Aubrey Bailey.
For students like Aubrey, it’s also a chance to catch up after COVID-19, when learning was online for over a year.
Even last year, summer school was kind of a hybrid. According to the district, 3,000 students stayed home and took summer classes online. That is not the case this year, as summer school and programs have returned fully in-person.
Karyn Staton, a fifth-grade teacher, said the extra attention inside and outside the classroom can’t be matched.
“It gives them the opportunity to have a place to go, to engage and not necessarily sit in a classroom. They’re up, they’re engaged, they’re having a good time and they want to come back.” , Staton said. said.
JCPS’s Summer Backpack League and LIT programs last four weeks.
