In the wake of an objectively unusual school year, District 20 and Air Academy High School administrators have worked tirelessly to form a program to assist students in leaving the 2020-21 school year behind them.

Although countless accommodations have been made to create a somewhat normal school environment during the pandemic, learning at the high school level was inevitably altered. This is where the COVID Summer Learning Recovery (CSLR) program comes into play. Aimed towards recovering lost learning and regaining credits needed for graduation, CSLR is sure to be a valuable resource for AAHS.

Through the help of Dr. Susan Fields in the District 20 office, Air Academy’s new program comes as a result of a grant working solely to help students.

“They were really proactive to realize that we’d need this help and took the time to make sure our district had the funds to provide extra help for our students,” commented Air Academy Assistant Principal Liz Walhof.

Walhof has been Air Academy’s driving force behind lobbying for the formation of CSLR, continually keeping the best interests of all Air Academy students in mind.

As previously mentioned, the pandemic’s reach is endless, affecting every student across the Air Academy community in some form. However, its reach is more suffocating for some students than others. Classes can easily seem unimportant when mentioned in the same context as a worldwide deadly pandemic, so CSLR is geared towards reintroducing the value of high school education to students.

“Honestly, we hope [CSLR is] just a fun and straightforward way to help solve just a few of the problems COVID caused,” added Walhof.

CSLR is a self-paced program and can last up to three weeks. Students will receive targeted assistance in certain areas depending on the student’s needs. The program won’t count as an official class, meaning passing the program will not affect GPA, but will earn the student credit toward graduation.

“We really want this to help kids get just what they need and then want to get them to their summers as quickly as possible. Goodness knows, everyone will be ready for a break by then,” continues Walhof.

The program is located at the Air Academy campus, contributing to the in-person environment Walhof considers crucial for a functional learning environment. “There’s something that helps a person focus by having to get up, get out of bed, and come to a place where others are also working,” said Walhof.

This program is certainly not a free pass for graduation credits, participating students are expected to work for the make-up credits by completing work every day of the program to regain any lost learning.

This year has been like no other. As time seems to pass even quicker with the approach of summer, it’s finally time to think about the next steps after the pandemic. If CSLR sounds right for you, please reach out to your counselor to answer any questions or get registered for the program this summer.