Students described what their teams did to try to cushion and protect an egg before dropping it from the top of a stepstool during Tracey Nordahl’s class at the Summer Academy and Expanded Learning Program at Kyrene de Los Cerritos Elementary School.

“Summer Academy has been around for many years with classes designed to enrich our students and extend learning on key academic concepts. Classes have included STEM, art, music, cooking, sports and wellness, English Language Arts and more,” said Josh Glider, director of community education for Kyrene School District.

“The Kyrene Expanded Learning Program was created last year to help address learning loss associated with the pandemic and online learning. This year, both programs are being offered simultaneously as a hybrid model of enrichment and intervention,” Glider said.

About 1,400 students took part in these learning opportunities this summer, Glider said.

Video by Tabitha Bland/AZEdNews: Take a look inside Kyrene School District’s Summer Academy & Expanded Learning Program

Elementary students participated in four enrichment classes or a combination of two hours of enrichment and one hour of intervention in English Language Arts and one hour  of intervention in  math, Glider said.

Middle school students took part in two hours of English Language Arts and two hours of math daily with Social Emotional Learning embedded in the curriculum, Glider said.

“Summer programming like this is important because it keeps students engaged in learning in a fun enriching environment, supports academic achievement, and prevents summer learning loss,” Glider said.