2020-21 Calendar: Last week I shared that the state legislature has required all North Carolina public schools, including charter schools, to add 5 instructional days to our calendar for next year to address lost learning time in schools’ transitions to remote learning this year. Summit was able to transition to remote learning fairly quickly, but we are still obligated to meet this requirement. Accordingly, based on faculty input and Board of Trustees approval, we have added the following 5 instructional days to our calendar by repurposing 4 teacher work days and reinstituting the MLK Service Day: August 18 (new first day of school), August 19, January 4, January 18 (MLK Service Day), April 5. Note that our new start date is August 18, two days earlier than originally calendared. We will be sending out the revised 2020-21 calendar this week.
Maintaining High Academic Standards: Summit has remained committed to supporting our students’ continued growth toward college-readiness through this last quarter of remote learning, and we will continue to maintain high academic standards as we support our students return to school next year. We are preparing our curriculum and scheduling to ensure students have the opportunity to meet and exceed grade level standards through the 2020-21 school year. We look forward to sharing our goals and plans for the 2020-21 school year upon our return in August.
Summer Learning Programs: In keeping with our belief in supporting our students to meet high expectations, we will be offering summer learning opportunities in a few high-priority academic areas at no cost to families. Programs will be offered through a virtual learning platform, and each will provide synchronous instruction from a Summit teacher. This week, we will send out additional information on summer learning program offerings and instructions for registering.
Returning to School in 2020-21: As I shared last week, we are preparing to return to school on campus in August, and currently await expected guidelines from the state on necessary health procedures in doing so. Additionally, so that we are prepared to support continued student learning throughout the school year, we are also preparing contingency plans should the state direct schools to return to remote learning at any point in the school year. To be clear, we believe there is no substitute to our students’ learning experience on campus, but we must be prepared to support our students regardless of the circumstances as we continue to navigate the current public health crisis. We will continue to be in communication throughout the summer to keep our faculty and families informed of any updates in preparing for the start of the 2020-21 school year.
8th Grade Graduation and Move-Up Day for 2019-20: 8th Grade Graduation will be held August 13 at 10:00 AM at Summit. Move-Up Day will be held on August 21 at 8:45 AM. Please hold the dates! We will send out more information in the weeks leading up to each event!