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Summer school called students' easy way out
By KENT FISCHER © St. Petersburg Times, published August 2, 1998 Too many students use summer school as an excuse not to do their work in the regular academic year, teachers say. The kids know they can take the class again in summer school, where the work is usually easier. "The kids have pretty much figured it out," said Bayonet Point Middle School teacher Brian Bennett. "Go to school for 180 days, do nothing, go to summer school and pass." By most accounts, such attitudes can be found to varying degrees in every middle and high school in Pasco County. Once the scourge of students everywhere, summer school has become an accepted routine for many kids, according to teachers and principals. Nobody knows how many students scheme to go to summer school instead of doing the work the first time around. But principals acknowledged that most summer school students are there because they didn't try much during the school year. "Most of the kids aren't here for academic deficiencies as much as they lack a work ethic," said Max Ramos, principal at Land O'Lakes High. "What we need to do is learn how to motivate those students." But wouldn't eliminating summer school help do that? Ramos doesn't think so. But some other teachers and principals do. And several students interviewed at three Pasco high schools said it might. Of the 12 students interviewed, eight said they are taking summer classes because they slacked off during the regular school year. Ten said they thought students would be more inclined to do their school work the first time around if they knew summer school wasn't an option. "If there wasn't summer school, I'd still be in middle school," said Gulf High ninth-grader Mike Magripolis. "But if there wasn't summer school, I guess I'd have to do (the work) during the year." This summer, about 7,000 middle and high school students -- one in three -- took summer school classes, which ended Wednesday. But, administrators quickly caution, that doesn't mean that 7,000 students flunked. Several hundred students took driver's education, which counts as a summer school class. Several hundred more took physical education this summer to get the class -- a graduation requirement -- out of the way. And several hundred more students are counted twice in the enrollment figures. Students can take up to two classes each summer. Students who take two are counted twice in the enrollment figures. Students attend summer school for free. Regardless of how many students slide their way through school on summer classes, principals say it's one of the most common complaints they hear from teachers. "Teachers talk about it all the time," said River Ridge assistant principal Ken Brown. "The student will come right out and tell you, "I'll make it up in summer school.' " It's a big concern because summer school classes are often far from rigorous. This year, summer school lasted only 21 days. Teachers say you simply can't cram a full year's curriculum into so few days, even if the classes are four hours long. That means much of the material students must learn during the school year is either left out or only briefly reviewed during the summer. Athena Graham taught summer school for 12 years. A science teacher, she said has tried to cram her entire year-long curriculum into a single summer school session. It didn't work, she said. "It was very condensed, and even after summer school, most students still didn't work up to their potential," said Graham, who teaches at River Ridge Middle. At the high school level, some courses are combined in summer school, creating catch-all courses. For example, instead of offering separate summer classes in American history, economics and world history, those classes are often combined into a single social studies class. The resulting course is often a hodgepodge of information, teachers and principals said. "The material you get in summer school is more general," said Art O'Donnell, principal of Ridgewood High. "It's not the same course that the student took during the regular year." Students know it, too. "Summer school is easy because it only takes five minutes to do the work," said Tracy Powell, who took two classes this summer at Gulf High. "Some of the teachers don't even give any work." Knowing all that, some principals said they would rather eliminate summer school and instead require students to attend remedial classes during the regular school year or on weekends. That's what O'Donnell wants to do. For years as principal at Hudson High, he and administrators kicked around the idea of scrapping summer school. Principals and teachers say most kids don't decide to rely on summer school classes until realizing they have fallen too far behind to make up the work. That usually happens about mid-year, teachers said. O'Donnell said he thinks providing remediation courses after school or on weekends would help the kids catch up on that work, eliminating the need to go to summer school. "Summer school addresses the problem after the fact," O'Donnell said. "Having remediation two or three days a week could help the kids make up the work as they progress. You're addressing the problem more immediately." State officials said there is nothing preventing any school district from eliminating summer school in favor of remedial programs during the regular academic year. But if a district did that, it probably would have to pay for the remedial program itself. Currently, the state pays for summer school. The state, in fact, gives districts more than enough money to run summer school. This past year, Pasco received $4.5-million from the state, but will spend slightly more than $3-million on summer school. The $1.4-million surplus is used to pay for other district projects, like technology, remediation programs and hiring more teachers. The fact that summer school actually generates money for the district makes it extremely unlikely that it will ever be eliminated, several administrators said. But that doesn't keep some from hoping changes can be made. "The kids basically know they have that safety net," O'Donnell said. "I wish we could get rid of it."
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ome Pasco teachers and principals have an idea they say will push students to work harder: Eliminate summer school.
