Virginia Beach outlines expanded summer learning: asynchronous Boost, Ready, Set Kindergarten, SOL Fast Track and VBDC courses

Virginia Beach City Public Schools staff outlined an expanded summer learning program designed to provide both remediation and acceleration for students in prekindergarten through grade 12.

"Summer opportunities will continue to exist for all students in grades pre K through 12 that will offer both opportunity for remediation and acceleration of student learning," said Lorena Kelly, executive director of elementary teaching and learning, who delivered the presentation to the school board. She told trustees the division will continue to offer a free asynchronous Boost site in July and August with lessons aligned to the new math and language-arts standards and family communications in English and Spanish.

Kelly said the division is enhancing supports for families invited to use Boost by funding at least one facilitator at each elementary school to contact selected families, provide weekly emails, host office hours and give feedback to students. "Students will be selected to attend based on student need," she said.

The district also described Ready, Set Kindergarten programming to prepare children for school routines, transportation and classroom acclimation. The presentation named Ready, Set Kindergarten sites as Bayside Elementary, College Park Elementary, Diamond Springs Elementary, Green Run, Holland, Lynn Haven Parkway and Point of View; the program will run August 10–13 at host schools.

For Title I elementary schools, Kelly said the division will operate a full-day program supported through a partnership with United Way. "We had to fill out an application that we wrote and submitted, and then they only accepted certain school divisions," a staff member said, describing a grant award process. The district said it has been selected for a grant portion for the last three summers.

Secondary offerings include SOL Fast Track tutoring — an intensive one-week prep followed by a retest for students who passed the course but did not earn the verified SOL credit — and first-time full-year courses delivered through the Virginia Beach Digital Campus (VBDC). Thomas Quinn, executive director of secondary teaching and learning, said face-to-face repeat sessions and VBDC registration open Monday, May 4. He described Fast Track as "intense tutoring over the course of a week, and then you retake the assessment at the end of the week." Fees for secondary summer courses are tiered and tied to verified free and reduced-price meal eligibility; many Boost and Step Up offerings are free.

The presentation also reminded the board that some students with disabilities will receive extended school year (ESY) services determined by their IEP teams. ESY dates and daily hours were described for elementary and secondary students.

Board members asked clarifying questions about how students are invited to in-person camps (staff said invited students will be contacted and invited to participate), transportation (staff said transportation is provided for invited in-person participants) and how families access asynchronous Boost (a QR code links families to a video and the site). Kelly noted the division will no longer have support from "all in funds" after June 30, 2026, as it plans future offerings.

Staff said they will provide additional participation figures on request and encouraged families to visit the division's summer school website for full details and registration links.

The board's discussion of summer programming concluded as members asked for follow-up figures; staff stood by to answer additional questions at subsequent meetings.