The EdVocate West

Educational Malpractice: Districts Eliminating Summer School

July 16, 2010 at 11:33 pm arunramanathan Leave a comment

Given the appalling achievement and opportunity gaps for Latino and African-American students and students in poverty in California, the choices that are being made by districts around the state to shorten, roll back or just plain eliminate summer school are unconscionable. Students who are behind or have fallen behind need summer school. Every child that is not at grade level in ELA and Math should have access to a high quality summer school program. Cutting off access to these programs at the same time that districts are cutting down the length of the school year is nothing short of education malpractice. And don’t tell me that these decisions were forced on districts just by the state budget crisis. Clearly, our state’s underfunding of public education is at fault. But let’s be clear; it’s also about the decisions being made by school boards. Take one southern California’s district’s decision about the elimination of summer school. That board which also directly runs the distirct had a clear choice between negotiating for a five dollar increase in the employee copay - from $5 to $10 - or eliminating summer school. They eliminated summer school. This kind of choice has been repeated in districts across CA. It strikes at the role and the primary mission of our school districts and education system. There are some who think that our school districts are employment agencies and that is their primary function. I believe that school districts are primarily educational agencies and when they stray from that mission they have ceased to deserve to have the authority to make such important decisions.

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