If you want a Bakersfield summer school, enroll students this week
Bakersfield school officials are currently gauging interest in having a summer school session in July for students in kindergarten through eighth grades. The proposed summer school session will run from Monday, July 6, through Friday, July 31.
Superintendent Amy Britt says so far, the school district hasn’t had enough interested parents commit to summer school to logistically hold the month of classes.
“I’m not sure of the reason for the decrease in enrollment. It could be the increase of cases of the coronavirus in Howell County, which contains a portion of the Bakersfield district,” Britt said. Howell County has had 26 positive cases of COVID-19, including six new cases announced Monday. “It could also be that many students have ‘staycation’ plans with family this summer, because many of the ones who have enrolled indicated they wouldn’t be here all the time.”
Britt says the Bakersfield school district usually starts summer school with 70 to 80 students enrolled. About 60 of those students generally have perfect attendance throughout summer school.
As of June 12, the district had only had 37 students enrolled for this year’s proposed session.
“Our hope was to get kids in here to refresh and cover material from fourth quarter that was lost due to COVID-19, but if we do not have a significant increase in enrollment, that won’t happen…. In a year when we know the district will face cuts, it doesn’t make sense to have a summer school that will result in losing money,” Britt said.
In past summer school sessions, Britt says, a large number of students who attended summer school didn’t enroll beforehand but just showed up on the first day of classes.
“This year is different. We must know in advance because we are at a pivotal point to determine if there is enough enrollment to have summer school. This year we can’t bank on kids just showing up,” she said.
Summer school registration continues now through Friday, June 19. Any student may attend summer school, as long as he or she has not attended another Missouri public summer school this year. To register a student for summer school, call the Bakersfield school office at 417-284-7333.
If summer school is held, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch. Limited transportation routes will operate with designated pick-up locations.
Britt said the Bakersfield school district will continue offering its free food pickup Tuesday evenings from 4 to 6 p.m. as long as parents are interested in picking up the meals for their families.