More Marion County students than ever in the past 15 years can participate in free summer school programs this year made possible by funding from COVID-19 relief efforts.
Thousands of students, at no cost, may attend classes designed to close education gaps created by the pandemic and online learning. More than 1,600 teachers and support personnel will educate and support students attending summer programs throughout the district. Virtually all of the estimated $5.8 million price tag will be covered with federal dollars earmarked for pandemic expenses.
Transportation will be provided to students attending summer school at their base (zoned) school. Families may choose another school but must provide their own transportation.
Parents can register their child for summer school by using their Family Access accounts. Students can also register via their Student Skyward Access account. Those using free transportation must register by May 7 using either method above. Parents can also contact their child’s school for detailed information and registration. For working parents, some sites will offer afternoon Extended Learning opportunities.
The district’s 32 elementary schools will offer options tailored for the needs of their own students. These options include reading intervention camps, math support programs, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) labs, writing refreshers, social studies courses, foundational skills, transition programs, English Language Arts (ELA) options, vocabulary and comprehension modules, and other programs.
Though times vary, most elementary programs operate on an 8 a.m.-2 p.m. timeframe in June and July, Monday through Thursday.
Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) classes also are available at these six elementary schools: Belleview, College Park, Emerald Shores, Maplewood, Marion Oaks and Reddick-Collier. VPK classes run June 7-July 20 from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Breakfast, lunch and a snack are provided. For more information on Summer VPK, call (352) 236-0533, option 1 or visit www.marionschools.net/vpk.
Rising sixth-12th graders also have opportunities to participate in summer learning. Grade-level programs include Credit Recovery, Algebra 1 Refresher/Readiness, Geometry Readiness, extracurricular camps, boot camps for industry certifications, soft skills development and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Summer Bridge focusing on math, science and transitioning to the secondary school experience.
All public middle schools offer at least one program on campus during the summer. Also, 21st Century Community Learning Centers will operate at Belleview, Howard, Lake Weir and Liberty Middle Schools.
Most public high schools also will offer two three-week sessions of Credit Recovery and Driver’s Education classes on their campuses in addition to courses listed earlier.
Across the district, most summer programs will utilize face-to-face instruction. Transportation and meals are available to students attending summer programs. More details are available by directly contacting participating schools. You can also visit www.marionschools.net and this detailed document for more information.