High school senior Diego Perez has a natural green thumb. So when his teachers at Bay Area Technology School in East Oakland invited him to plant a school garden as part of a summer learning project, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

“It feels good to get out of the house,” says Diego, who is planting the garden at BayTech’s main entrance. “Before, there was nothing but dead grass here. But now, it really looks like a garden. It’s really coming together.”

Campus beautification projects are just one of the many activities BayTech offers to get students together on campus during the summer months after a year of remote instruction. The ultimate goal is to help students feel socially and emotionally ready for in-person instruction when school starts early next month.

“We’re trying to bring the anxiety level way down for our kids,” says Seth Feldman, BayTech’s superintendent. “We want students to connect with each other and their teachers before the school year even begins … so when the first week of school starts, we can get on with academics and building community.”

Check out BayTech's summer learning program in action! >> Click on this slideshow: 

BayTech is a college prep charter public school that serves a large number of Black and Latinx students, many of whom come from low-income families. With an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), BayTech’s academic gains are a direct result of its ability to individualize the learning experience of its middle and high school students throughout the year.

In addition to organizing fun yet educational activities this summer, the charter public school in East Oakland also launched Camp BayTech, a summer learning program that offers students academic support in core subjects like math, as well as enrichment classes in drumming, art, and cooking. The classes, which are extremely popular with students at Camp BayTech, are taught in partnership with Higher Ground Inc., a local nonprofit specializing in afterschool programs.

“Every time I wake up, I’m just so happy to come to camp,” says 11-year-old William Beverly. “We’ve been in this pandemic for over a year, so I haven’t had a lot of people to be social with. Now, I have people to play with here on campus."

BayTech’s new principal Cesley Frost realizes, however, that not all students are as enthusiastic as William for a return to in-person instruction. She says the traditional back-to-school jitters for some students will be exacerbated by ongoing trauma and fear stemming from the pandemic. To help break through social and emotional hurdles, Ms. Frost has also organized off-campus events for students during the summer including a field trip to a local bowling alley.

“Some kids were a little reluctant to go on that field trip,” Ms. Frost recalls. “When you think about it, they haven’t been to school in a year let alone on a school bus. But in the end, they had so much fun. We hope we’re easing some of their fears so they feel more excited and ready to return.”

So far, BayTech’s efforts this summer are paying off. During a recent community event on campus, dozens of students, parents, teachers, and friends of BayTech voluntarily spent an entire day taking part in various activities from painting planter boxes to cleaning classrooms.

“I was feeling a little nervous, but now I’m excited for what’s coming ahead,” says Wisdom Grace Owens who will be in 7th grade this year. “My goal is to get good grades, officially make new friends, and have good relationships with the teachers.”

Gearing Up for a Very Different School Year
When school begins next month, BayTech teachers and students are likely to spend a lot more time learning outdoors. That’s because Ms. Frost is encouraging her teachers to “take learning outside of the classroom” and utilize the campus’s outdoor spaces to conduct class.
Teachers began experimenting with this approach due to COVID-19 restrictions at Camp BayTech over the summer. Students were much more engaged in class and motivated to learn. As a result, Ms. Frost is planning to incorporate this strategy during the regular school year.

“COVID really challenged us to reflect on how we deliver instruction,” Ms. Frost says. “This school year, in-person learning does not have to look as traditional as it did before.”Delivering instruction in an entirely new way is one of the hallmarks at BayTech.

Two years ago, the charter public school made a big investment in digital learning software like iReady to help accelerate student learning in class. In addition, each student was given a laptop which allowed BayTech to pivot quickly when the statewide shelter-in-place mandate went into effect more than a year ago. According to Mr. Feldman, BayTech had an average daily attendance rate of 95 percent as a result of its distance learning schedule and ed tech focus.

BayTech plans to continue with that ed tech focus. However, the school is now turning its attention to investing in mental health support and services for students this year, recently doubling the size of its counseling pool. It has also enlisted more students to be BayTech Youth Ambassadors to help fellow students feel safe and comfortable on campus.

“I’ve chosen to volunteer just for the interaction with the kids,” says Dewin Almanza, a high school senior and BayTech Youth Ambassador. “I want to make sure everyone feels safe at the school because this is a great school. I just want everyone to have a great experience at BayTech.”

BayTech officially welcomes its middle and high school students on campus on August 2.

If you’d like to learn more about this Bay Area charter public school, visit it website.

This blog story was written by Ana Tintocalis, CCSA's Director of Media Relations and Research. She is a frequent contributor to the CharterNation Blog. Got a good charter school story? Contact her at atintocalis@ccsa.org.