For many students, summer isn’t just a break; it’s a chance to get ahead by taking extra classes that straighten their skills and provide them with extra credits.

A range of summer online courses in different subjects such as languages, physical education, personal finance and more are offered. Registration ends on June 6, for these classes and are offered through FCPS online campus website that leads into a portal to sign up for the classes along with tuition information. 

“I always recommend PE or econ courses,” counselor Dwayne Peyton said. “You need to get those done for high school [so taking them] opens your schedule up for something you’re more interested in.”

Many students take the advice given to them from their counselor and take advantage of online summer courses to lighten their workload during the school year. This allows students to focus on more challenging or subjects that are personal preferences. Additionally, the flexibility of asynchronous and synchronous classes lets students work at their own pace, making it easier to balance academics with summer jobs, travel and social life. 

“I don’t regret taking an online gym because I think it allowed me to get a lot of things out of the way and I had more time during the school year to focus on my other classes,” sophomore Oliva Shen said. “One piece of advice I would give to people taking online summer courses is to not wait until the last minute because every day is like a different amount of work and completing them on time saves you time and makes it easier to learn.” 

The online campus registration provides students and parents with a step-by-step guide on how to register for the given class along with the course catalog. While summer courses provide students with flexibility and opportunities to lighten their school-year workload.

“My personal experience with registering for the class was very simple and uncomplicated,” Shen said “The programs that I took definitely made the start of the year easier for me with more time to adjust to the rest of my new classes.” 

Alongside the benefits of added time, the program has improved over the years by adding new classes, offering online options and expanding accessibility to a wider range of students. FCPS has been offering established summer classes since 2006,consistently refining the curriculum to meet evolving educational needs and providing students with more opportunities for enrichment and advancement.