But thousands of districts have made cuts. In Los Angeles, where school officials are still working to
remove hundreds of millions of dollars from a $5.5 billion annual budget, they cut $34 million last month
by canceling summer school for all elementary and middle school children except the disabled. That left
150,000 students without summer classes, and parents scrambling for child care.

Hundreds of other California districts, including San Diego, Long Beach and Sacramento, have also
trimmed or eliminated summer school. An online survey in late April by the California State PTA found
that about 40 percent of responding school districts had reduced summer programs and about 20 percent
had eliminated them entirely.

The North Carolina School Boards Association did a similar survey of the state’s 115 districts. Three-
quarters of those that responded said they would eliminate summer school or reduce its scope, said
Leanne Winner, a director at the association. “Things have gotten worse since we did the survey,” Ms.
Winner said.

Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said, “Nearly all districts in
Florida have cut summer school down, and about half have eliminated it altogether.”

In Rutherford County, Tenn., school authorities cited not only money troubles but also swine flu in
explaining why they cut elementary summer school after the district lost some state financing.

All the cuts nationwide have put into jeopardy an institution that has turned summertimes past into
nostalgic memories for millions of Americans.

“I remember as a child growing up, summer school was enriching and fun,” said Tamara Sortman of
Sacramento, where cuts have left her three children with no summer school option. “I took guitar one
summer, creative writing another. I remember an arts class where we did tie-dying. I had a single working
mom, and summer school kept me out of trouble.”

Kenneth Gold, an education professor at the College of Staten Island who wrote a history of summer
learning, said that in the 19th century, many American schools offered their regular classes in summer
and winter, with recesses scheduled for spring and fall to allow planting and harvesting. By 1910, however,
that cycle had been largely displaced by the September-to-June, 180-day calendar common today, in
which summer school is an optional addendum.

Since the 1970s, however, the value of rigorous summer school has gained increasing recognition because
of research by a Johns Hopkins professor, Karl Alexander, and other sociologists showing that the
academic achievement gap widens during summer vacations.

Low-income students who hold summer jobs or are idle, the research has demonstrated, forget more
math and reading skills over the summer than their affluent classmates, who often receive intellectual
stimulation in the summer from canoe trips, language camps or ballet lessons.

Richard DiPatri, schools superintendent here in Brevard County, leaned on those findings in recent years
as he made free summer school classes available to all students, both for remedial work and for languages
and other electives.

“We built it up, but last year here in Florida, our funding just went over the cliff,” Mr. DiPatri said.

Adrimel Marlasca, 12, who just finished sixth grade, said that in previous years, she had enjoyed summer
classes at Discovery Elementary in Palm Bay, Fla.. But this summer, she is marooned at home.

The other day, Adrimel was up at midmorning, ate some cereal, then watched a show on the Disney
channel. She played with her pet cockatiel and her dog, Princess, ate lunch and watched some more
television. Later, she went shopping with her mother, picked up her room and read a mystery book for 45
minutes.

Page 121 of 179
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