On July 1, Ingenuity Charter School’s summer session returns for its sixth year of enrichment and fun, open to all San Diego County residents in sixth through 12th grade.
Ingenuity Charter School – a hybrid learning middle and high school that opened its doors in 2015 – gives San Diego’s underrepresented student population access to high-quality education that fits around their unique home and work responsibilities.
Typically, Ingenuity’s summer session works the same way as Ingenuity’s traditional school year in that it offers a convenient blend of online and face-to-face learning. But due to COVID-19, summer session coursework will be fully online this year – delivered to students through Ingenuity’s cutting-edge, 24/7 online learning platform, Edgenuity.
“Students will have a cohort of teachers to contact and assist them with their work Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon,” said Nicole Clayton, an Ingenuity instructor of over three years.
Enrichment opportunities and staying the course to success
Despite the onset of COVID-19, this year Ingenuity is still able to offer its full roster of summer session programs. This includes credit recovery, academic enrichment, driver’s education and even physical education.
“The advantage we have is that our blended learning format delivers excellent distance learning content no matter what,” said Brian Maytorena, Ingenuity instructor of three years. “We still plan to offer the same wide variety of classes starting July 1.”
Ingenuity’s summer session programs are carefully designed to support different goals for students.
For instance, credit recovery courses get students back on track by making up credits for a course they previously failed. This lets them move onto the next grade before the new school year begins, or fulfills timely graduation requirements.
Enrichment courses are for students in grades 6-12 who want to advance in a particular subject area, but whose home school does not offer summer session courses. Unlike credit recovery courses, enrollment in enrichment classes is only by recommendation of a teacher or counselor.
“I think that students really enjoy the opportunity to strengthen their skills in whatever courses they’ve struggled with during the past academic year,” Clayton said. “Enrichment classes give them a new chance to feel confident and succeed in the upcoming school year.”
For sixth through eight graders, the most popular of these enrichment classes are Ingenuity’s summer session “bridging” courses in math and Language Arts.
Students in bridging courses can bypass the summer “forgetfulness gap” by keeping on top of the material they just learned, as well as becoming familiar with core concepts that are coming up in the new school year.
A familiar, secure space to spend the summer
In addition to credit recovery and enrichment courses, Ingenuity is also San Diego’s go-to summer source for driver’s education and physical education classes.
Driver’s ed is available to all students who will turn 15 ½ years old by the end of the course in August. Graduates earn a certificate of completion, which they can take to the DMV to begin the required driving hours for a learner’s permit.
Physical education courses are still happening this year, but they will not look quite the same as summer sessions past. “There will be structured Zoom sessions to lead PE courses virtually,” Clayton said.
The presence of Ingenuity’s familiar summer session program is especially important and helpful for underrepresented students and communities of concern in this tumultuous year of abrupt change due to the pandemic.
“Our summer session benefits our students by allowing them a continuous educational experience,” Maytorena said. “It’s really important to give students a sense of continuity and normalcy through this trying time of COVID-19.”
Another crucial aspect of summer session is that students are given a nutritious lunch, free of charge. Students can pick up their lunches in The O’Farrell Charter School parking lot, Monday through Friday. On Fridays, students receive take-home lunches for the weekend.
There is no question that 2020 has been rough for students so far. But Ingenuity believes that by offering their engaging summer session courses, students will feel more confident about the new school year come fall.
“We hope that summer session will help students make the transition back to school this year as smooth as possible,” Clayton said.
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Please call (619) 431-3129 or go to ingenuitycharter.org to register your student for Summer Session 2020.
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