PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Pinellas County Schools Summer Bridge Program is on track to set attendance records this year.
What You Need To Know
- Pinellas County Summer Bridge program to set attendance record
- Program is open to all middle and high school students
- Program is offering free transportation and more courses
- Program runs from June 21 to July 15
Judith McIntosh teaches math at Oak Grove Middle School in Clearwater.
She's already planning for her Summer Bridge classes.
"We're going to do STEM activities. We're going to be doing hands-on and group work," she said.
Pinellas County Schools are expecting higher enrollment in their summer program this year with as many as 25% of the district's students possibly participating.
District administrators stress it's open to all students and not just those who are struggling academically.
"For students who maybe have been virtual all school year, this is a great chance to get back to a little bit of that normalcy without the anxiety of the start of a new school year. And for those who have been in school all year, it's a chance to deepen some of the learning and also some of the social-emotional ties," said Associate Superintendent Kevin Hendrick.
The program is being expanded to include all middle schools and high schools along with a majority of elementary schools in the district.
Pinellas Schools is also offering free transportation and more courses.
"The exciting portion is we finally have electives. We have PE and we have art," said Kristy Therrien, Principal of Oak Grove Middle School. "We are prepared, we are ready to take it all on."
Seventh grader Jayce Jones says he will be attending Summer Bridge for the first time.
He said it's a way for him to get ready for the fall semester and even the future beyond that.
"I will get to learn more and when I go into 8th grade, I'll know more math than I already do," he said. He added he hopes to attend Clemson University someday and wants to make sure to keep his grades.
McIntosh said she will be using the "summer bridge" to make sure no students fall by the wayside after a challenging year.
"One of the main things that education is pointing to these days is the importance of building relationships with students and the more relationship building I can do as a teacher, the better I know my class becomes," she said.
Pinellas County Schools Summer Bridge Program runs from June 21 to July 15.