Interest high for summer school as educators stress need to keep kids engaged

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Most adults can still remember that feeling on the last day of school as they were filled with anticipation for a fun and carefree summer.

This year is going to look a lot different for many students.

Many school districts are expanding their summer school options as they try to keep students engaged in the learning process over the next couple of months.

“There’s definitely is lost ground,” said Mike Tarlin, who runs the Summer Institute Program at Framingham High School. “But I think the habits of being in school, having homework, of socializing, reaching out for help, of doing things in person is going to incrementally help kids.”

Mateo Palfreman, who oversees Framingham’s programs for younger students, said parents are interested in getting their children enrolled. “I would say, at least at the elementary level, it’s higher than I’ve ever seen before.”

Within two days of announcing registration, Palfreman says more than 400 parents signed up. “It’s a lottery this year.”

After a year of remote learning and empty classrooms, Palfreman said “summer is more important this year than ever before.”

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker seems to agree. Baker recently announced $70 million for summer learning and recreational programs “...that can help kids grow academically and socially after a year of so much remote and hybrid learning. We think it’s critically crucial to give people these opportunities and to give kids a chance to participate.”

Nationally, $30 billion was included in the last COVID-19 relief package to help districts fund programs.

“It’s a great opportunity to provide students with extra support, but it’s been stigmatized because the way we frame summer school is as a punishment,” said professor Jack Schneider, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Schneider says it’s important for programs to be broad based and go beyond subjects found on standardized tests.

“I think the model that we should use is to think about what the most advantaged kids in our society get and they get a lot. They get sports and other kinds of recreational opportunities. They get arts and music education.”

Parents should talk to teachers and their children about whether a summer program would be appropriate, Schneider said. Parents should also trust their own instincts about what would work well for their kids, he added.

“I think one of the big things for the summer is it’s going to be in person,” said Tarlin. “Because we’ve been remote and hybrid for such a long period of time, I think it’s a way to sort of integrate the kids back, saying ‘hey, this is what school looks like.’”

It will also offer a chance to be around peers, according to Dr. David Langer, a specialist in child psychology at Suffolk University.

“Peer interaction is super important for youth at all ages and for different reasons. For younger kids more socialization helps with learning the rules of how to engage and how to share,” Langer said. “But it’s especially relevant for adolescents. It’s been especially hard for them to have the same availability of interaction over the pandemic.”

All the experts told Boston 25 News it’s important that parents speak positively about these programs with their kids, setting a one that they can be fun.

Their first tip: don’t call it summer school.

Cox Media Group