As summer heats up, students everywhere are enjoying their vacations. However, here in Edmonton, more students are choosing to say no to a break, and are choosing instead to stick to the books. Summer school numbers are on the rise.
In the midst of a heat wave, academics may not be a top priority for local youth.
“It’s hot inside, but I’m doing it. I’m here. It’s what I do.”
Kwabena Amoh is a student year-round – not to catch up – but to get ahead. He’s hoping to boost his grades to make him a more attractive recruit for post-secondary institutions, and likelier recipient of scholarships.
“I’m going into Grade 12, so the better my marks are, the more scholarships I can use,” says Amoh.
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Other teenagers take summer classes to lighten their course load for the upcoming school year.
“Just one subject,” says Natalia Hennedy, who’s taking Grade 12 Biology this summer.
She’ll “get all the terms and finish it up and have at least one spare in Grade 12, so it’ll be a little bit easier.”
Edmonton Public Schools released statistics showing they have about 7,700 students registered for classes this summer. That’s up 7% from last year, and up about 15% from 2010.
“We’ve increased almost 1000 students over the last two years,” says Trina Empson, with Metro Continuing Education.
“I was surprised to see basically all of my friends taking summer school,” admits Hennedy.
School officials say the reason behind the rise in attendance is tougher admission requirements of universities.
“There’s a lot of interest in students wanting to get into university and wanting to get better marks,” explains Empson.
Students agree with that reality.
“I wasn’t satisfied with my mark so I wanted to retake it so I can take physics next year,” says Amoh, who earned a mark of 71%.
“I wasn’t too happy about it. I knew I could do better so I decided to do it again.”
So now, the public school board is seeing a resource that was once linked to punishment, embraced as a viable education option.
“People are now taking summer school not just because they have to,” says Amoh, “but because they want to.”
With files from Fletcher Kent
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