Whenever I would tell colleagues that I enjoyed teaching summer school, which I did for more than 20 summers, many would tell me I was a masochist. But what I liked most about those summers was that students were with me for three and a half hours a day, so we got to know and trust each other quickly and could get right down to work. Since they would be taking only one subject, it was easier for kids to focus; many of them told me that the first time they read a novel all the way through was during summer school.

Unfortunately, amid today’s budget cuts, summer school is becoming a luxury and many school systems are going to have to go into triage mode and reserve summer school for those who most need the extra time. To me this would mean kids who are far below grade level in their reading and math skills and English language learners who need constant reinforcement lest they slip exclusively into their native tongue during the summer and forget much of the English they learned during the year.

Though it goes against all my instincts as a teacher, the emphasis in summer school needs to be on skills, not subject matter, when resources are limited.

For example, in my school, ninth graders who fail a world civilization course because they didn‘t memorize factoids covering some 1,000 years are usually one of the largest groups in summer school. If kids who read on grade level fail for the year, the teacher could give them a project to complete on their own over the summer. This would not involve any cost to the school and would justify moving the students on with at least gentleman Ds.

However, students who read well below grade level, even if they pass the course, should be made to take a reading course over the summer to improve that essential skill.

Teachers wedded to their subject matter would have to swallow some pride if such a compromise were made. And administrators would have to fend off accusations that they were lowering standards. But when money is scarce, the emphasis during the summer has to be on those most in need of improving basic skills, not on those who through laziness or indifference blew off a course in British literature or American history.

NY Times