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Milpitas board hears plan to reframe secondary summer school as ‘‘launchpad,’’ recommends PBL plus online curriculum
Summary
District staff proposed reshaping secondary summer school by combining Subject.com with project-based learning, shortening two-hour blocks, adding teacher PD for block scheduling, and using showcases/incentives to shift summer school from punishment to 'launchpad.'
District learning-and-development leaders presented a two-part plan on Nov. 18 to reshape Milpitas Unified’s secondary summer school after three years of piloting different models. The proposal responds to concerns that computer-only platforms offered low interaction while fully teacher-led two-hour blocks caused fatigue and required more teacher planning time.
Presenters (secondary director Marissa Quaid and principal Casey McMurray) described the evolution: early summers relied on online platforms (Edgenuity), then shifted to Subject.com to increase engagement, and most recently to teacher-directed instruction to boost retention and interaction. Increased teacher involvement improved outcomes but revealed trade-offs: teacher planning time, student and teacher fatigue in long blocks, and perceptions of summer school as punishment.
Recommendation and rationale: Staff recommended combining Subject.com (for standards coverage and scalable content) with project-based learning (PBL) to provide hands-on application and student agency. They proposed testing 1.5-hour blocks (rather than two full hours), adding professional development focused on filling longer blocks with engaging, varied instructional strategies, and holding student showcases and incentives to reframe summer school as a positive, career- and college-preparatory experience.
Board questions and next steps: Trustees asked about scale (district-wide enrollment historically about 450–500 students), average class size (20–30), teacher recruitment and timelines, and whether student voices could be included in future evaluations; presenters agreed to provide enrollment/eligibility numbers and to invite students to future reports. Staff noted budget constraints may reduce summer instructional days from 25 back to 20 in future years and said the County’s ELOP/funding changes shaped that consideration.
Impact: The recommended hybrid model aims to preserve rigorous standards coverage while increasing relevance and engagement, which staff said could improve retention and student outcomes if staffing and planning time are adequately supported.
