Student Instruction:
Summer School
Why Consider Summer School?
- Students may complete coursework 24/7, anywhere with a computer and Internet access.
- Facility costs are lower or eliminated.
- Staff costs are low – one teacher can mentor many students in many subjects.
- Online instructors teach the courses and provide expanded support.
- Districts can offer dozens of courses instead of just a few with little or no additional cost.
- Student self-esteem is built through this inconspicuous way to catch up with classmates.
- Schools can help more students to graduate on time, get back on track, work ahead, or take an interesting course they couldn’t fit into their regular school-year calendar.
- Students and parents have more flexibility to work around summer jobs and vacation plans.
Over 50 half-unit credit courses are offered for summer school as well as in the fall. Click here for course options.
Summer 2004 Semester-paced Course Calendar
| Registration Opens | 4/1/04 | |
| Registration Closes | 6/7/04 | |
| Refund / Credit Deadline | 7 business days after the student’s class start date | |
| Class Starts | 6/14/04 | |
| Class Ends | 8/13/04 | |
| Final Days for Grades | 8/20/04 |
Summer 2004 Flex 90 Course Calendar
| Registration Opens | 4/1/04 | |
| Registration Closes | 7/9/04 | |
| Refund / Credit Deadline | 7 business days after the student’s class start date | |
| Class Starts | 6/7/04 to 7/12/04 * | |
| Class Ends | 8/27/04 * | |
| Final Days for Grades | 9/1/04 * |
Refund/credit deadline: 7 business days after the student’s class start date. Schools will receive a refund of the course fee if USDLC receives the request within the drop period. No refund after the drop period.
Enrollments and other transactions received by noon will be processed that day. Enrollments and other transactions received after noon will be processed the next business day. Enrollments received during peak enrollment periods may take an extra 24-48 hours to process.
* Students may not begin their Flex 90 course prior to the first start date listed, regardless of when they are enrolled. Students whose Enrollments are received on the first start date or later will start their class the following school day. Flex 90 courses should be completed within 90 days or less, but the class end date listed is the absolute final date for that Flex 90 session (i.e., Flex 90 students could finish their course much earlier than that date.) Students enrolled late in the enrollment period may have less than 90 days to complete the course.
SOS (Support for Online Students) is available for the summer courses.
The online instructors will offer SOS service which reduces the burden on school’s mentor teacher(s) / facilitator(s), as well as the time they must commit. SOS service includes:
- Weekly e-mail or phone progress reports sent to the student, parent and mentor / facilitator
- Instructor contact information for parents and students
- Regular office hours for “tutorial” assistance
- Additional student progress information to mentors / facilitators, as needed
Summer school can lower or eliminate facility and transportation costs because students may complete course work at home, the public library, or anywhere they have a computer and Internet connection. School districts provide the mentors / facilitators who could oversee many students in many subjects. Districts could recoup all or part of the enrollment costs by charging tuition as is often expected in the case for summer school courses. Students and parents appreciate online courses because the convenience and flexibility lets them complete summer coursework without interfering with summer jobs or vacation plans and without worrying about transportation.
For districts with an existing summer school program, this is a way to dramatically expand course offerings and their availability to students with transportation issues or schedule conflicts. These expanded offerings could attract students from neighboring districts. Students will also appreciate the chance to “catch up” discretely, from the privacy of their own homes.
For districts without an existing summer program, the affordability and ease of makes it very possible to offer summer courses. These online courses can help students get back on schedule for graduation or to advance a grade, or lets them work ahead or take an interesting elective they couldn’t fit into their regular school-year schedule.