Educators See Spike In Summer School Enrollment; Anticipate ‘Brighter Days Ahead’

Summer school will be starting July 6, and this year a lot more students have enrolled than in years past.

For the first time in months, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said students and teachers can look forward to a much more normal school semester, and a stronger than ever summer school is helping.

Hofmeister said 10,000 Tulsa Public School students have enrolled in summer courses. That's double what the district normally sees.

Educators said that's because many students had trouble with remote learning.

“Districts have been monitoring progress and they are identifying students that have learning gaps or unfinished learning," Hofmeister said. “They’re utilizing these summer months to help build some of that back in.”

It's paid in part by funding from the Federal CARES act to help students so they can be ready this fall.

Hofmeister said things are looking good for the fall semester, with teachers finding ways to move education forward while covering lost ground.

“Some students are just ready to go right out of the gate. Others are needing to revisit the last grade level’s content, but it doesn’t mean that they have to repeat the entire grade," Hofmeister said. “Those kinds of losses can be rebuilt, and we have plans starting with the summer but as we move into the next year to really combine and blend what was left unfinished during the school year and braid that together with the new expectations of the next grade level.” 

The state is prioritizing a school councilor corps to help students focus and adjust to being back in school full time.

“Brighter days are ahead, and our kids are going to have the resources that they need," Hofmeister said.