Dive Brief:
- This month, middle school students at the Napa Valley Unified School District will get a chance to brush up on their math skills, get a taste of what high school life will be like and start to prepare for college, thanks to a new summer school program.
- The Summer College Readiness Academy, as the program is known, is meant "to prepare students for high school mathematics, transition to high school, and meet college and career ready requirements," Ivan Chaidez, the program’s supervisor, told the Napa Valley Register.
- The academy is also sponsored by the Migrant Education Program and University of California-Davis, because of the deficit of math skills they noticed in their incoming freshman. Students in the program develop high school and college and career plans, with the help of guidance counselors.
Dive Insight:
The program and others like it have begun to crop up as districts have tried to find strategies for getting students up to speed earlier in their school careers. Summer learning opportunities have gained importance as districts face pressure to increase graduation and college success rates and even out the summer learning dip. Colleges and universities have gotten involved as well, as remediation rates for incoming freshmen have spiked and driven up college costs and length. In Denver, the school district launched a ninth grade summer academy that is intended to get students thinking about college before they enter high school. Like Napa Valley's, the program is a collaboration with a local university which has tried to reduce remediation rates and ease the transition to college.