Roughly 300 Huron-Perth Catholic secondary students opt for online summer school

For students across the Huron Perth Catholic District school board, the notion of summer school only being intended for those who fell behind during the regular school year is becoming a thing of the past.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic introduced online learning as the norm in 2020, the local Catholic school board has been offering high school students at St. Michael Catholic secondary school in Stratford and St. Anne’s Catholic secondary school in Clinton the opportunity to take – or retake – select courses online at their own pace through its Secondary Summer Program.

“The school board runs this programs for a variety of reasons,” school board secondary learning co-ordinator Paul D’Hondt said. “It gives students flexibility in obtaining a credit that they would have (otherwise) taken in the future and they can now take (online in the summer). It frees up their schedule in the coming school year to take either an extra elective or another course they might have difficulties fitting into their schedule.

“We also have students who may wish to take a course they weren’t as successful in when they took it previously. …These courses are fully online and they’re asynchronous, which means there’s no live video and no requirement that you must be at your computer by 9 am or that kind of thing. They’re really built to allow students flexibility in their day.”

By offering students the chance to learn wherever they are, and whenever they have spare time, D’Hondt said the Secondary Summer Program gives them an opportunity to get ahead or catch up with their studies without sacrificing things like summer jobs, vacations, or time with family and friends.

“There is a requirement of several hours each day engaging in the course material, but those students can do it whenever they want,” D’Hondt said. “They can participate after a job. They can participate first thing in the morning. We have some students log on in the middle of the night for some strange reason. Whatever their schedule is, this opportunity is something they can take advantage of … and they can take courses online from the comfort of their own home or even from the cottage.”

While he said this program was at its most popular during the pandemic when students were mostly learning virtually anyways, D’Hondt said it remains popular. Roughly 300 students chose to take an online summer course this year.

Following consultations with students during the school year, and with other school boards, the Huron Perth District Catholic school board offered five different summer courses that students had the option to sign up for back in the spring. Those courses included Grade 10 civics, Grade 10 careers, Grades 11 and 12 English, and co-operative education.

D’Hondt said students interested in taking online summer courses next year can speak with their guidance counselors in April to register for the program.

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