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Students feel deep cuts to LA Unified summer school program

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Students file into John H. Francis Polytechnic High School for the first day of summer school.
Jed Kim
Students file into John H. Francis Polytechnic High School for the first day of summer school.

Years of budget cuts have whittled away summer school. Only 5,000 students will be able to make up for failed credits this summer — and that's not nearly enough.

SUMMER LEARNING: Education experts say idle summers can put kids behind when they go back to school in the fall. KPCC spoke to teachers, parents and kids across Southern California about what they're learning this summer — or not.

Thousands of kids who wish they could spend their summer in a hammock will instead spend it in a classroom.  They failed algebra or English, and need to make up credits to graduate. 

Credit Recovery, as it's called, is the only teaching that goes on in LA Unified schools over the summer, and not even all failing students can get it. 

In the second part of our "Summer Learning" series, KPCC's Jed Kim says severe budget cuts to the program mean seats are at a premium.

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