This is the third consecutive year the district has pared back its summer offerings.
In 2009 and 2010, summer classes were cancelled for elementary and middle school students and high school offerings were limited to make-up classes.
This year, ninth-graders are excluded from summer enrollment, while seniors who failed to graduate must enroll in adult school. That limits summer school to sophomores who received an F and juniors who received a D or F in a class they need to graduate.
"We're in a very unfortunate financial situation, so we have to limit our offerings," said Javier Sandoval, intervention administrator at Beyond the Bell Branch, LAUSD's extended learning and enrichment program. "Space is so limited, we don't have enough room for everyone in the district."
In fact, with only $3 million available for summer school, compared with $54 million just five years ago, the district can accommodate only 20,000 students. Of those, about 6,000 will be taking their classes online.
"Online classes have the same cost (associated with them) as classes in a brick-and-mortar school. It just adds a new dimension," said Themy Sparangis, chief technology director for LAUSD.
For ninth-graders and junior high school
students who need academic help over the summer, Sandoval said, teachers are recommending independent activities such as frequenting the library or following the academic links that will be posted on the Beyond the Bell website (btb.lausd.net).LAUSD will also continue to offer enrichment programs at about 150 elementary and middle schools.
Because of LAUSD's limited options, private, parochial and charter schools say they are seeing a dramatic influx of students into their summer programs.
"We've gotten tons of calls from referrals by school counselors familiar with our program," said Bill Toomey, deputy superintendent for Options for Youth, a group of charter schools with campuses in the San Fernando Valley. "We're one of the few shows left in town."
Options for Youth expects 8,000 to 10,000 more students at its Los Angeles sites this summer, compared with last year, Toomey said. The program even added night and Saturday classes to meet the demand.
Most of the students enrolled in Options for Youth are 10th- and 11th-graders who need to make up failed credits, though the program is open to anyone ages 12 to 19, Toomey said.
High school students looking to get ahead rather than make up classes still have the option of concurrently enrolling in community college. Though the Los Angeles Community College District cancelled summer school because of budget cuts, others remain open.
"Community college tends to be the first pick for high school students since they get high school and college credit, so it helps them get ahead," said Maral Hyler, associate director for instructional services at Santa Monica College.
But community colleges across the state are facing their own budget crises and may not have enough room in their classrooms to accommodate the demand from high school students.
"I think all of us parents and educators appreciate the financial situation schools are in now," said John McElwain, vice president of communications at College of the Canyons in Valencia. "We know we're not serving all the people who want to be here."
Registration at community colleges works on a priority system, with high school students registering last. With only 300 sections open for the summer across the two campuses of College of the Canyons, most classes were closed by the time high school students were allowed to register, McElwain said.
For those who can afford it, private schools across the city offer summer classes similar to those LAUSD used to offer that are geared at both remediation and advancement.
Catholic schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese experienced a 10 percent to 12 percent increase in summer enrollment this year, spokeswoman Carolina Guevara said.
Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, for instance, received more inquires about summer classes than it ever has, said admissions director Anita Rezzo. While Crespi has only four LAUSD students enrolled in its first summer session, Rezzo expects more during the session that begins July 7.
Crespi's summer school is mostly aimed at retaking failed classes, but some classes, like chemistry, are aimed at preparing students for Advanced Placement-level classes, a service LAUSD can no longer offer its students, Rezzo said.
But the price tag for private summer school is too steep for some. Crespi students who normally turn to LAUSD for summer school to save money now have to turn to night school or online classes, Rezzo said.
Kimberley Matthes, the principal of Pinecrest Schools Van Nuys, said her school has not seen much interest or enrollment from LAUSD students because of the tuition costs.
"The socioeconomics of the area we're in doesn't support paying $200 for two weeks," Matthes said. "I imagine if we were free, we would see more interest."
Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18358905?source=rss
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