Pittsburgh Public Schools Announces 'Summer B.O.O.S.T.' Program To Address Pandemic Learning Gap

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- As some Pittsburgh Public students still aren't back in the classroom yet, the district is looking towards the summer.

Some Pittsburgh Public School parents say the last year was tough. The transition to remote learning was difficult, and they believe the kids' educations suffered.

It's an issue that Pittsburgh Public School Superintendent Anthony Hamlet says the district is working on.

Today, those plans were finally announced on how to help students.

The program is called Summer B.O.O.S.T. and will work in combination with an extended school year for a group of students.

The district identified roughly 1,500 eligible students for the summer program based on data, student engagement, attendance and parent input.

The problem is that only leaves less than 3,000 spots available for any other student who may also need that help.

"If the child is not receiving any type of education over the summer, you are then adding in the summer slide so that exasperates the gap, and our goal is to minimize that as much as possible and mitigate whatever we can," said Minika Jenkins, a chief academic officer.

While parents told KDKA, they are glad for the extra resources, they also just want to get their child through this year.