NOSD summer school takes enrollment hit

Summer school attendance in the Northern Ozaukee School District plummeted this summer compared to last year, presumably due to concerns related to the coronavirus.

Only about 75 students attended summer school this year, down from 465 in 2019. All classes this year were held remotely.

“Obviously, the virtual aspect had some effect on (enrollment),” Summer School Principal Lynn Kucharski told the School Board last week.

“I don’t have specific feedback from parents as to why they didn’t enroll their children this summer,” Kucharski said later in an email.

“Those who did enroll in our virtual summer school had fun learning in their classes and we received positive feedback from many families.”

Of those who did enroll, 50 were in first through eighth grades and were mainly enrolled in remedial support and enrichment classes, Kucharski said.

Twenty-five students in grades nine through 12 were enrolled in credit recovery and credit courses, she said.

Despite the precipitous drop in enrollment, district Supt. Dave Karrels said the summer program made a “strong” showing.

“Overall, our summer school enrollment was strong as we compared with other schools who had to eliminate their program altogether,” Karrels said.

Before this year, the district’s summer school offerings had significantly increased in recent years, drawing more students to the program.

Last year’s enrollment was up 10% over 2018, which was 26% higher than in 2017.

Summer school offerings usually include a variety of enrichment courses for students in middle and high schools, such as foreign languages, strategy and board games, sports, arts and crafts, drama, cooking and podcasting.

Other, more fundamental courses are also traditionally offered to help students advance more quickly or catch up on required coursework.

In addition, an array of career-minded courses are traditionally offered, such as computer coding, public speaking and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) classes.

Kucharski said 15 teachers each taught one to three classes.

Wisconsin Virtual Learning, the district’s online charter school, also saw a drop in summer attendance, though not as significant.

WVL had 111 students in high school classes this summer, down from 138 last year, WVL Summer School Dean of Students Janel Mielke said.

The students included 35 enrolled from other school districts in Wisconsin, 21 from Ozaukee High School and 55 from Wisconsin Virtual Learning.

Increased summer enrollment benefits the district financially because it is factored in the coming school year’s state funding formula.

The severe drop will have a small impact, Karrels said.

“One-year summer school enrollment impact is minimal as all numbers are factored into a three-year rolling average for summer school,” he said.

“All things considered, with what districts were required to do this summer, we were very pleased with the results.”