by SOPHIA TATAR

When I signed up for Andover’s eSummer program, I was looking for a flexible class to help me continue learning over the summer, work with problems that were personalized, and do this while being surrounded by a supportive and friendly virtual community. Now that I have attended the program, I think it is fair to say that Andover’s eSummer provides all of that and so much more.

Even before the program officially began, my teachers took the time to get to know me both as an individual and as a student. I spent a couple days doing pre-assessments, which ranged from taking standard math and English tests to sending a picture of my favorite place to work! Everything was done to find a class, teacher, and curriculum which would be an ideal fit for me.

At our synchronous sessions, I got to know my classmates who Zoomed in from all over the world! When meeting all at the same time was not possible because of time differences, my instructors hosted meetings at different times to be convenient for everyone. It was refreshing to switch between different activities, such as live instruction with my class, 1:1 meetings with teachers, and individual study throughout the day. Possibly my favorite part of my summer with Andover was working with dedicated, flexible, and friendly teachers. My instructors created a plan with me for each week and made sure I stayed on the right track. ESummer has a range of different courses. Because I took the “High School Prep Institute” course, I had an instructor for English and for math. Both of my teachers were eager to modify and add new assignments to those available on the website that worked better to my learning goals. The learning was boundless!

In the English section of my course, I wanted to practice applying different strategies I learned in my assigned worksheets into essays. Although my teacher did not originally plan this, he was enthusiastic and proposed writing a story. I then submitted this story to “The Exhibition of Learning,” which was a collection of everybody’s best work that summer.

The experience I had at eSummer was easily the most effective, challenging, and exciting summer learning program I’ve ever had. My advice to future eSummer students is to dig deeper and try something new that is out of your comfort zone. The possibilities and support here are truly endless!