Free summer school for all San Diego TK-6 students
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Every San Diego student up through sixth grade can get a month of full-day summer school for free this year.
Why it matters: That's a big change from the past, where only kids who met certain criteria could access the programs, and it could be a money-saver for parents who often shell out thousands of dollars for camps.
Zoom in: From March 23-30, parents of transitional kindergarteners (TK) through sixth graders can sign up for the free program.
- It will run June 4-July 17, 8am-5pm.
- From 8am-12pm, a credentialed teacher will give lessons.
- Then, from 12-5pm, kids will head to PrimeTime, the free after-school program.
- From July 6-17, kids will do full days of PrimeTime.
At least one elementary school in each cluster will offer the summer program, so there should be a nearby school for all families.
- You can see the full list here.
Catch up quick: San Diego Unified has always offered summer programming for English-language learners, unhoused students, or those with individualized education plans, Tobie Pace, senior director of extended learning opportunities for the district, told Axios.
- Last year, they served 12,000 kids.
- This year, it'll be 55,000 kids.
- "We're a little nervous about it," Pace said.
To handle all those kids, they're increasing the number of schools with summer programs from 42 to 55 and adding more staff, she said.
What they're saying: "That's the big shift for us, not just having families apply or do first-come, first-served," she said. "If you enroll during the one-week window, you'll get these summer programs, whatever you need for your child."
Behind the scenes: Pace said the district is making the change because it lobbied state lawmakers for more funding to accommodate every student.
For older students: The district will still offer the same summer programming.
- Seventh and eighth graders can do arts programs at four middle schools.
- High schoolers can do summer school to make up classes they got Ds or Fs in.
- Or high schoolers can intern as teaching assistants at the elementary schools.
The bottom line: Parents need to make sure they have their correct cell phones and emails updated in the PowerSchool parent portal, because that's where they'll get links to sign up for summer programming, Pace said.
- Parents will get one unique link for each child, so if they have multiple kids, they need to sign up each one separately.