Patch Blog: Summer School Decision Opens Up New Opportunities for LCUSD Students

I have been following the summer school debate with great interest for several years.  When I was Immediate Past President of the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation (2010-11), I strenuously advocated that the Foundation step into the breach left by LCUSD's financially-based decision no longer to offer summer school.  One subissue we debated was whether to provide 6,960 minutes of seat time (4 hours per day, 5 days per week, 6 weeks, minus the 4th of July).  Knowing that Hillside provided 2-hour classes which are a popular option, we decided that anything associated with LCFEF had to meet our community's standard of excellence, so we decided a two hour class was the "soft option" and we would offer the gold standard.  Additionally, at that time, we were expecting the LCUSD Governing Board in January 2011 to enact a requirement that credit toward graduation would be given only for classes meeting this rigorous requirement. 

The Board this requirement during the 2010-11 academic year for Summer 2011, and all indications from the are that this requirement will never be enacted.  Further, the Board will not require a competency test as a prerequisite for crediting the classes toward graduation.  I have been persuaded by AJ Blumenfeld, the brilliant Princeton education scholar and 2011 LCUSD school board candidate, that seat minutes are hardly the sine qua non of a worthy summer course; the quality of the teacher is by far more important than an arbitrary number of minutes.  (As teacher quality is so extremely important, one of the key components of LCFEF's Summer School program is that the Foundation sets hiring criteria and hires based on merit alone, without discriminating in favor of or against anyone based on LCUSD employment.)

Following the November 15 Governing Board vote, the implications and opportunities for the Foundation's summer school program are staggering and intriguing.  For starters, the Foundation can now confidently provide 2-hour classes with full knowledge that they will be accepted by LCUSD toward LCHS graduation.  The Foundation can therefore reduce its costs of providing a single class because there will be less time spent by teachers.  This also gives students and parents flexibility, as a first and second period can be offered, perhaps 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.  Alternatively, students might be able to take two classes during the summer.  I don't know which is most exciting, the increased academic opportunities for the students, the increased revenue opportunity for the Foundation, or the increased employment opportunity for area teachers.

But thinking even more broadly, if the Foundation can provide a solid class in 58 hours in 29 summer days, there appears no reason the Foundation could not provide classes in the late afternoon, early evening, or weekends during the school year.  Think of the flexibility this might provide for students, parents and teachers.  Think of the potential utility to be gained from putting the classrooms, ordinarily shuttered from about 3 p.m. until 7 a.m., and all weekend, to good use.  Think of the increased employment opportunity for teachers.  Given our school's proximity to JPL, maybe the Foundation could find qualified individuals to teach evening classes in astronomy, engineering, orbital mechanics, and other subjects that are not part of the core curriculum but might inspire our students to expand their academic horizons.  Imagine the advantage this might give our students in their college applications.  Maybe this would even persuade some of the 100's of LCUSD-resident students who opt for private schools to give LCHS a second look, which would automatically increase District revenue. 

I encourage my friends currently serving as LCFEF Directors to consider expanding the successful summer school into something that can provide year-round educational opportunities for our students.