Philly's Summer School Program

When summer school started in Philadelphia, Fox 29 axamined the cost. We found that sometimes kids that really did not need summer school  were attending.  They were using it as a way to get ahead.

So, with the summer ending, we wanted to revisit this topic. Fox 29’s Joyce Evans takes a closer look at summer school – did we get what we paid for?

The school district says we did, and it may not have cost as much as we first thought. This year’s summer school program was an aggressive, new program. Here are some numbers:

$47million budgeted for the summer program, named SLAM.
30% of students were pre-k through 8. They needed remediation.
90% of students were high-school students – grade 9-12. They needed to improve their grades.  Many needed help in order to graduate on time.
Maximum number of summer school credits was increased from 2-3.
700 received their diplomas this summer!
70 were over 21 and returning drop-outs.

Classes were extended to a full day, Monday thru Friday.
Students were offered acceleration or extra credit and enrichments classes. That includes dance, art and music.

Some think that this is money well spent.

Others think this that is a pre-curser to year-round schooling. Take a look at what Dom Giordano, former teacher and 1210AM radio show host, thinks of this trend.

What do you think? Should schooling be year-round? Do you think summer school should be reserved for only the kids that need the extra help?

Let us know!