On April 18, the Dallas Independent School District announced that upcoming summer classes would have something to offer every kind of student. The Summer Breeze 2022 summer school program will last two months and is designed to make summer learning exciting. According to the Dallas ISD press release, Summer Breeze will allow students to improve their emotional and social well-being, connect with fellow students, and participate in challenging tasks. 

According to Sharla Hudspeth, the executive director for Dallas ISD Extracurricular and Extended Learning Opportunities, the district created Summer Breeze 2022 to address all participating students’ emotional and holistic needs. 

“Dallas ISD provides students the opportunity to grow and learn during the summer months in an environment that is fun and exciting,” Hudspeth said. “Summer Breeze 2022 has been designed with that in mind. Students will be engaged in academics in the morning and extracurricular activities in the afternoon.”

During June, students may participate in district-created summer school programs. Dallas ISD partners will offer enrichment activities for students throughout July. 

According to Hudspeth, the program will prepare students from all walks of life for the upcoming school year and future learning opportunities.

Dallas ISD’s youngest students will experience days full of activities in the Pre-K Summer Cool Camp. These undertakings primarily focus on reading, math, extracurriculars, and enrichment activities. 

According to the press release, the program offers remote, extended study to high schoolers wishing to participate in:

• Credit recovery to earn credit for courses not earned previously;
• Acceleration by earning credit for courses not taken previously;
• Test preparation for the ACT, SAT, or TSI.

Dallas ISD schools will also provide camps designed to prepare middle schoolers for high school and early college experiences. According to Dallas ISD, Summer Breeze 2022 will additionally offer P-TECH and Early College summer programs that focus heavily on exploring future career options. 

Merrill Devenshire, the director for Dallas ISD Extended Learning Opportunities, said these summer programs would expose students to career paths they can explore after high school. 

“The summer school program is the perfect vehicle to help students make educated choices about the different learning opportunities in Dallas ISD,” Devenshire said. “Summer Breeze 2022 will give students an early look at the career pathways that will impact their lives beyond their high school journey.”

Students will be able to enjoy plenty of enrichment activities designed to broaden their future opportunities.

“Fun enrichment offerings abound, including robotics, science and fine arts camps, academic decathlon, yearbook workshop, debate, coding, chess, cheerleading, band, strings, dance, mariachi, theatre camps, and more,” the press release states. “Dual language ESL camps include science discovery, Spanish immersion, refugee summer enrichment, and newcomer language camp. And Extended School Year services provide individualized instruction for eligible students with disabilities.”

In June, a cast and crew of students will partake in the Summer Youth Arts Institute’s presentation of Erykah Badu, the Musical. It will be produced and performed at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters.