Calgary summer school enrolment climbs as students see value in condensed course format

Thousands of Calgary high school students are opting for summer courses this year, a trend that continues to grow as both the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District recognize the flexibility and benefits.

Students are choosing summer school for various reasons: to create schedule space during the regular school year, to redo a course for a higher mark, or to get ahead. CBE Education Director Ken Weipert noted that better postsecondary entry requirements have made it more important for students to achieve higher marks.

"Postsecondary requirements to get into many programs are pretty tough now, and sometimes students just need an opportunity to redo a course to bring their mark up a bit," Weipert said.

Dylan Vasas, who teaches high school math in both summer and regular school-year sessions, said summer school creates a distinct learning environment. "One thing I've come to see over the years is we're never going to hit the utopia when it comes to learning; there isn't one learning model that's going to serve every single student we have," he said. "Having things like online learning, summer school, night school, or a traditional five-month semester, we're trying to offer what's going to work best for the learner that we have."

Vasas said that being able to lock in on one or two courses during the summer, rather than three or four during the year, has helped both him and his students. From an instructor's perspective, additional teaching doesn't add to burnout — it helps it. "At the end of the school year where it's been go, go, go, we fall off a cliff," Vasas said. "You build these strong relationships, you watch students grow over the year as well. What I've found is I'd feel good about my teaching, and I didn't get to think about how I was feeling hitting that wall."

Sarah Hamilton, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Mount Royal University, said the perception of summer school is shifting. "We're starting to recognize the opportunity that can come with it for some students. People are noticing that it can be an opportunity and not a punishment," she said.