Is the school open in July and August? In Florence it will be possible thanks to the Summer Plan. The Ministry of Education and Merit has allocated 400 million euros, nationally, for inclusion, sociability and skills development activities during the summer suspension of lessons. Institutions can, in addition, use additional Pnrr funds.
Schools must submit projects by tomorrowthen they will have to wait for the Ministry’s response and authorization, collect the actual availability of the teachers and the enrollments of the students. Times are tight and overlap with other deadlines and end-of-year commitmentsnot facilitating the organization of either schools or families (many of which have already organized summer camps).
«The possibility is interesting – comments Paolo Boncinelli del including Botticelli — but it would take more time to organize something really useful and not improvised, while now we are overwhelmed. Some of my teachers have developed proposals, we’ll see if we can propose them.”
In Florence, the Estate Plan is more successful among students, while few high schools have applied. Schools have the autonomy to decide activities and periods. To the understanding Barsanti they will choose August, to accommodate those who remain in the city. To the Comrades-Carducci workshops and remedial courses are evaluated for English, mathematics and Italian in primary and middle school, activities also in nursery school in June and July. «The families are in favor, they are happy with the possibility and for us too it means providing continuity» says the principal Laura Guido.
At Coverciano they will have English courses for primary schools, art, music and theater courses for primary and middle schools, to Puccini courses for recovery and strengthening of skills and active citizenship in September and June next year.
At Galluzzo courses in Italian, mathematics, science and technology, English, citizenship, theatre-dance and gymnastics are scheduled in June, July and September. «We will focus on the inclusion of students and on giving everyone the opportunity to attend», explains principal Maria Teresa Frassetti. «For families it is certainly an opportunity, for secondary students an opportunity for recovery and for primary students for in-depth study. At an organizational level there is a different amount of work and commitment on the part of the school, but, albeit with effort and sacrifice, it is possible to get the plan started.”
However, few high schools will participate.
“In high school it’s difficult to involve students in the summer,” says the principal Russell Newton Anna Maria Addabbo. Here they have not submitted an application to the Plan because they already have summer projects underway, such as English lessons for 45 students who will then go abroad in September.
To Agrario and Alberti Dante support courses are planned for students with greater difficulties. No summer activities to Michelangiolo, to the scientific Da Vinci (due to construction site), to Galileo, to Saffi, to Gobetti Volta.
The unions are open to the Summer Plan but criticize the timing. “If some schools think they can use these funds in a useful way, that’s fine, but it’s a bluff on the part of the Ministry if it thinks it can solve the school’s problems in this way,” says Emanuele Rossi, of the CGIL. «This Ministry is always late: how do you get things done if you don’t know how many families are participating? The schools are organizing themselves but amidst a thousand doubts.” Also for Claudio Gaudio of the CISL «there is no preclusion to giving schools the right to organize projects in the summer and teachers to participate, but the planning should be done starting from September, not until the end when the schools have other commitments that cannot be postponed. There’s a risk of half a flop.”
