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As high school students, we anxiously await the hot humid mornings and rainy afternoons that signal the approach of summer vacation. Summer seems to be the most anticipated time of the year for many who see it as a two month long break from schoolwork, tests, studying, stress, and responsibility.

Some of us, however, see the ten week break as an opportunity to improve academic grades and get a head start with additional electives. Getting ahead in our high school curriculum can be crucial to getting accepted to our dream college and having room in our schedules to take more desirable electives instead of having to worry about graduation requirements.

Senior Trixie Richter saw the summer following her sophomore year in 2008 as a chance to improve a low grade in Algebra I, a required math class.

“I knew that I would be using the skills I learned in Algebra later in college, so I saw [summer school] as a chance to learn the material,” explained Trixie. “I got to raise my GPA with the help of a new teacher.”

Students may claim summer classes take away valuable relaxation time from their extended break, but when asked how three weeks of four hour long classes affected her free time, Trixie replied, “My class was from 8 a.m. to  noon, so I had a whole day ahead of me. Plus I made a lot of new friends.”

Along with improving grades, summer sessions allow students to use our summer to take elective courses for graduation requirements and to free up space in our school year schedule.

In the summer before her sophomore year, senior Lindsey Goldstein fulfilled her physical education graduation requirement through a six week summer course.

“It was such an easy credit, and it allowed me to free up space in my schedule. I got to take all the classes I wanted during the school year,” commented Lindsey. Instead of basing her sophomore year schedule around a gym class, she was able to take Yearbook, Newspaper, and  Spanish,  in addition to all of her academic classes.

Both Trixie and Lindsey agreed that the summer classes not only gave them the credits they needed, but the small class sizes truly benefited students.

Ms. Brock, Heritage’s photography teacher who teaches classes both throughout the school year and during a summer session, believes having only five to seven students “allows more individual attention to the student.” She said the students do the same amount of work in three weeks as a student taking the semester course during the school year.

No matter what the reasons for opting to take a summer course at American Heritage, spending the summer wisely greatly benefits us in the long run without causing us to miss out on summer fun.