Bibb schools end high school summer school, emphasize year-round credit recovery

The Bibb County School District will no longer offer summer school for high school students in favor of emphasizing credit recovery — or opportunities for students to pass classes after previously failing them — throughout the school year.

The district will continue summer school programs for elementary and middle school students, said Superintendent Dan Sims. He sent a Dec. 10 letter to high school parents noting the change and the implementation of Right Now Recovery, which aims to help students catch up on coursework missed during the academic year.

Administrators will issue progress reports every three weeks, and any students missing coursework can request to complete unfinished work.

“It’s not so much a change; it’s really just illuminating credit repair (and) credit recovery that we have in place for our students,” Sims said. “The emphasis is really just a shift in culture.”

While summer school for elementary students is focused on rudimentary reading and math skills, summer school for high schoolers prioritizes credit recovery. Last summer, 738 students attended the district’s Graduation Ready program at Southwest High School — an increase of 184 students from the previous summer — with 645 of those students recovering at least one credit.

“Summer school costs money,” Sims said. “The school year costs money, so it’s just another example of us maximizing the use of funds while we can.”

The superintendent said he doesn’t want students to use summer recovery programs to avoid doing coursework during the regular academic year. He added students can use the summer to seek other social opportunities — like a job.

“The (recovery program) is in place for everybody, from kindergarten to 12th grade,” Sims said. “We need (parents) to take advantage of it right now by being in school, engaging with teachers and knowing where your child stands.”

Brian Butler, the district’s executive director of teaching and learning, said during an August meeting the district was looking at expanding summer school for younger students who may need extra academic assistance.