Dear Families,
We know that the COVID-19 crisis and the unexpected shift to remote learning in the second half of the school year have presented challenges for many families all across the City. The strength, perseverance, and dedication of our 1.1 million students and the staff and families who support them day after day continues to amaze me. We have continually evolved our policies to meet this unprecedented time, developing and in some cases entirely reinventing them to support our students and families. Today we are writing to share an update on summer school.
In continued adherence to federal, State, and City health guidelines, we are adapting our summer school model for summer 2020. This year, we will offer summer school via remote instruction, allowing us to provide more students than ever before with the academic supports they need and a bridge from this school year to the next. In addition to academic instruction, students participating in these summer school programs will also have opportunities to go on self-paced virtual field trips and engage in daily social-emotional learning activities.
Who in grades 3-8 will attend summer school?
Students in grades 3–8 who are not promoted in June will be required to attend summer school. They will participate in six weeks of remote instruction from Monday, July 13 – Tuesday, August 18.
Some students in grades 3–8 who are promoted in June may also be recommended by their teacher for additional academic support over the summer. They will participate in six weeks of remote instruction from Monday, July 13 – Tuesday, August 18.
Your school will notify you in June if your child is required or recommended to participate in summer learning programs.
Who in grades 9-12 will attend summer school?
Students in grades 9–12 who receive a grade of Course in Progress, or who need to retake a course they have failed in a prior term, will participate in remote instruction for the course(s) in which they need to earn credit. Remote instruction will run from Monday, July 13 –Friday, August 21.
Your school will notify you in June if your child is required or recommended to participate in summer learning programs.
What about students with 12-month Individualized Education Program (IEP) services?
Students in all grades with 12-month IEPs will participate in remote summer programming from Wednesday, July 1–Thursday, August 13. All students who are receiving or are eligible to receive these services will be contacted by their school shortly.
Your child’s academic success is of utmost importance. To ensure that students across the city receive the support they need this summer, we are dedicating all of our efforts to providing mandatory and recommended summer learning programs, and we will not be operating elective Summer Academy and school-based enrichment programs this year. We will continue to share resources and summer-specific activities at schools.nyc.gov/summer in the coming weeks so that all students can find new and exciting ways to continue their learning this summer.
We always say that New York City has the best students, staff, and families in the world, and nothing will ever change that. You continue to prove this day after day. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Carranza
Chancellor
New York City Department of Education