Summer Enrichment

List of 11 frequently asked questions.

• Will I be able to request additional Summer Enrichment classes or request changes to my student’s existing summer class(es)?

  Yes, but only during a 48 hour window of opportunity that will open on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 3:00 PM, and close on May 14, 2020 at 3:00 PM.  If a course opens for additional student requests, priority for placement will be given in the order that enrollment contracts have been returned electronically through Blackbaud.  The process by which this will occur will exactly match the process in which students requested classes earlier in the year through Blackbaud.  Please note, we do not anticipate opening requests for all classes.  The only requests that will be made available, will be for those classes in which a placement is possible

• Why have Summer Enrichment classes been changed from two-week on campus classes and four-week online classes, to three-week distance learning modules requiring daily check-ins with teachers?

  When it became clear that we would be moving to a distance learning format for all class instruction in March 2020, we began the process of adapting all curricular content to our new format.  What we discovered is in line with the views of leading educational researchers, technologists and administrators: the most meaningful distance instruction incorporates elements of synchronous learning (learning that involves direct face-to-face contact between teachers and students, and between classmates within a class) alongside elements of asynchronous learning (learning that can be done separate from a class, and which requires no direct or timed face-to-face interaction).  When we discovered that physical on campus classes would not be possible this summer, we sought a solution that would incorporate the best aspects of our on campus classes (face-to-face interaction and community-building), while retaining some of the freedoms associated with our traditionally asynchronous online course offerings.  The result was a blending of practices which seeks to accommodate as many students as is reasonably possible, given the availability of qualified teaching faculty, as well as other instructional resources.

• I’ve made tentative plans this summer based on the old Summer Enrichment schedule.  Can I still be accommodated based on the old schedule format and student commitment?

  Our previously-planned Summer Enrichment program has been cancelled.  It has been replaced with a newly redesigned schedule format, which incorporates learned best practices for instruction in a distance learning format.  As a courtesy, students were placed in these classes based on (1) course requests made through Blackbaud prior to our campus shut-down in March 2020, (2) available student positions within a class, and (3) on a first-come, first-served basis in the order that enrollment contracts for the 2020-2021 school year have been received (electronically, also through Blackbaud).  The Parent / Student Bulletin sent out by Mr. Kiefer on May 4, 2020 (linked HERE) details the process by which these newly designed, distance learning courses can be confirmed through the submission of a Google Form (linked HERE).  Please note that this form must be completed by Monday, May 11, 2020 or a student may lose out on an opportunity to take a Summer Enrichment class this year.

• Doesn’t my student need to take Summer Enrichment classes?  I thought Summer Enrichment classes were required.

  Summer Enrichment classes are completely non-compulsory and it is entirely possible for students to satisfy all graduation requirements by taking all classes during the academic year.  This might mean sacrificing an elective or managing a more academically rigorous schedule, but these are decisions that some families may have to make if the new class format does not work for them given their anticipated summer plans, or if classes close due to having reached capacity.

• My student is a rising Junior/Senior.  Why was one of his/her Theology classes approved, and the other denied?

  For Junior and Senior level Theology, there is no requirement that one course be taken before the other.  Unlike the Freshman and Sophomore level Theology courses, the “A” course is not prerequisite for the “B” course.  In addition, unlike Sophomore level summer Theology (Freshman level Theology is not offered in the summer), students in Junior and Senior level Theology are not required to take both “A” and “B” Theology courses as a long summer “block.”  What this all means is that there may have been a much higher demand for one Junior or Senior level Theology class, over the other.  This disparity would cause one class to close before the other, and for a student to potentially be accepted for one, but not for the other.

• I’d like to be able to take two online Summer Enrichment classes simultaneously as in years past.  Why is that no longer possible?

  In past years when Summer Enrichment online instruction was conducted completely asynchronously, it was potentially possible (though rare) for students to “double up” on classes within an offered online session.  As we’ve moved away from the asynchronous model for online class delivery, we are requiring synchronous components which means that students must be available for live online class time between the hours of 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM, Monday through Friday, on all days in which classes will be meeting.  These class meetings, along with other types of completed student tasks, will count as students’ “attendance checks” for instructional class days.  Just as it would not be possible for a student to take two separate classes during an instructional period within a school day, a student may not take two core (meaning “required for graduation”) courses concurrently during Summer Enrichment.

• So are all of the classes that were originally planned now just being offered online?

  No.  Many courses are no longer being offered during Summer Enrichment.  These include Driver’s Ed, Physical Education, Art, Honors Trigonometry, Honors World History Part 1, Theology 1A: Sacred Scripture, Theology 1B: Ecclesiology, Algebra Readiness and English Readiness.  In addition, classes that are being offered are now streamlined within the summer schedule.  During Distance Learning Module 1 students may take only one of the following courses: Theology 2A: Paschal Mystery, Theology 3A: Sacraments, Theology 4A: Christian Vocations, Health, or Computer Literacy.  During Distance Learning Module 2 students may take only one of the following courses: Theology 2B: Ecclesiology, Theology 3B: Morality, Theology 4B: World Religions, or Honors World History Part 2.

• Can my student take a Creative Writing, General Ecology, Mastering the College Essay (Advanced Comp), or ACT English Prep class at the same time as a core class?

  Since the Creative Writing and General Ecology classes are taken for the purpose of credit recovery, and the Mastering the College Essay and ACT English Prep classes are “zero credit” classes, they may be taken concurrently with core classes.  These classes will work outside of the 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Monday through Friday times established for core courses.

• Can you give me some more details on the daily attendance requirements for core classes?  Will my student have to be online every day for four hours?

  Attendance checks will be done by teachers on a daily basis, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM, Monday through Friday for all days that a class is in session.  These attendance checks may include class meetings through Zoom or Google Meet, Google forms, or other student-completed tasks within a synchronous framework.  Ultimately, teachers will have wide latitude to plan and determine the synchronous components of the distance learning classes, however, these components will be included in all classes.  As a safe estimate, it is reasonable to assume that the synchronous components of a class (i.e., live “class time”) might make up anywhere between 30-60 minutes of a given class day.  The other time would be given for students to conference with teachers individually, and to complete learning tasks either independently or within groups.

• Will my student be required to complete an attendance check for every day of class?  May students miss a certain number of classes during the three-week distance learning modules?

  We are required to ensure that our students maintain a minimum of 60 contact hours of instructional engagement over the time that a course is offered, in order to grant credit for successfully passing a course.  Four hours of instructional content per day (ensured by the daily attendance check), multiplied by five instructional days per week, over a period of three weeks, brings us to our 60 hour threshold.  As a result students may not miss any instructional days during the period in which a course is being offered.  Failure to successfully complete a required daily attendance check may result in automatic withdrawal from a Summer Enrichment course, with no credit earned.

• Aren’t these newly designed, distance learning classes conducted online?  How does an online class fill up?  Can’t you accommodate everyone who would like to take the class?

  All classes - on campus or online - have tolerances in which instruction occurs.  Maintaining reasonable numbers of students in class sections is a critical component in the delivery of high-level and efficacious instruction.  We are not interested in providing an option for students to “check a box” in order to “get a class out of the way.”  We are interested only in delivering the highest level of instruction possible within the scope of our academic programs.