奇速英语

暑期培训引发教育不公平的思考

In Beverly Hills, high school students can take a U.S. history course for $798 this summer; in La Cañada Flintridge, Spanish is offered for $775, and in Arcadia, a creative writing course costs $605, plus a $25 registration fee.

While summer programs in many California public school districts have been reduced or taken out, summer classes have gained popularity in recent years. They are offered by nonprofit foundations on rented high school campuses. They often are taught by district instructors and run by administrators hired by these groups.

Students enroll for a variety of reasons: some seek to get a head start on the coming school year, or clear up space for more advanced courses, and others want to retake classes for a better grade.

“It’s truly a stand-alone, private school for five weeks,” Jinny Dalbeck, director of the La Cañada summer program, said. “We’re not a public school. We’re meeting a need that the students have — to be able to work ahead.”

Critics say the foundations, though well-intentioned, privatize public school, undercut California’s guarantee of a free public education for all and contribute to an already wide inequity in educational opportunity by offering public school credit at a cost only some can afford. “What about the kids whose parents don’t have the money to put into it.” said Cal State Fullerton political science professor Sarah A. Hill, who studies public education finance. “They just don’t have the resources to pay for summer school.”

Caroline Kim, 14, is taking biology at the Peninsula High campus in Rolling Hills Estates for $670 to get a head start on her sophomore year. In the fall, she plans to take physics. Caroline and about 1,200 of her peers are attending classes offered by the Peninsula Education Foundation.

The cost isn’t a problem for her family and it is well worth the price. However, nearly 80% of the families are considered low-income, which are at a competitive disadvantage to their peers. “Those who have money can have their students go to summer school, and those who can’t are stuck,” A parent said. “It sets up an inequitable system.”