Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner on June 23 announced almost 100,000 students have started summer school, which includes both in-person and online instruction, as well as the return of popular online enrichment courses.

Approximately 1,400 preschool students, 38,000 elementary school students, 15,000 middle school students and 43,000 high school students are currently enrolled.

To mitigate learning loss due to the pandemic and to keep students engaged with their school community throughout the summer, LAUSD has made summer school available to all students, from preschool through adult school, for the first time.

“We are excited to offer summer school for all students, which includes reading, math, science and English for K-8 students and credit-earning opportunities for high school students,” Beutner said. “We’re offering nearly 200 different enrichment classes for all ages and all grades that literally go from A to Z – from African-American history to zoology.”

A full-day summer enrichment program is offered through July 30 on 337 elementary and middle school campuses, with in-person activities focusing on academic, physical, creative and social-emotional development. In addition, the adult education summer program which begins July 6 includes career-training and English-language classes.

Some of the most popular enrichment classes from last summer have returned, including science of sports with the Los Angeles Chargers and a voyage on the Titanic. Fender Guitar is providing an additional 2,500 middle school students a free acoustic or electric guitar, an electric bass or a ukulele as they join the 5,000 students already participating in teacher-led music classes.

Educators worked with the creative talents at Illumination, the creators of the Minions, to put together a cartooning and animation class where high-schoolers are earning credits for both high school graduation and college admission requirements.

Middle school students can learn storytelling skills and create their own comic book with the help of DC Super Heroes in the WarnerMedia story lab or explore history and culture in a Black/Pan African American history course. High school students in artificial intelligence for good will learn the basics of artificial intelligence and apply them to address a social issue in their community.

For information, visit lausd.net.