A group of first-graders huddled together outside Burnsville's Vista View Elementary School on a recent morning, giggling as they tugged a long ribbon back and forth for a real-world lesson in physics.

Nearby, some kindergartners joined together in song, smiling widely as they made their voices louder, then softer. Another group of students clamored up stairs and down slides on the playground, savoring the freedom of recess before heading back inside to the classroom.

It was the kind of scene that would have been unremarkable a couple of years ago. But after more than a year of pandemic-era limits on hands-on learning, summer school in Burnsville and across Minnesota has students, teachers and parents excited to resume some familiar routines. With a strong focus on in-person instruction, relaxed mask rules and a return to music classes, field trips and other school-day highlights, this summer is providing what may be a glimpse into the next school year.

"I think ultimately our teachers and kids want to be together in a more traditional sense, and they want to learn and grow," said Amy Johnson, special services director for New Prague Area Schools.

Districts of all sizes have seen a surge in interest in summer school this year, for several reasons. Many students who struggled with distance learning or the repeated shuffle from distance to hybrid to in-person learning over the last 15 months need to make up class credits, or catch up on reading or math skills. Some are excited to reunite with classmates and teachers, and get some much-missed social time. Parents, weary of trying to juggle online schoolwork or constantly changing schedules with their own job responsibilities, are eager to get their kids off their computers and out of the house.

Jason Sellars, Burnsville's director of community education, said he's given teachers in all of Burnsville's summer classrooms the same directions, which have come straight from families' requests.

"No. 1, we want them off Chromebooks," he said. "No. 2, if you can, get them outside; and if you can, go on field trips. Because for so long, kids were cooped up."

A boost of $75 million in federal pandemic aid, freed up last month by state lawmakers, is helping schools add field trips — many to parks, nature centers and other outdoor areas — and add bus routes to ensure more kids can get to summer school every day. Most districts have also used the extra money to hire social workers, counselors, English-language and special education teachers so students can get the kind of personalized support they need to be ready for the fall.

Osseo Public Schools Superintendent Cory McIntyre said summer programs in his district are focused on reading and math, as they are every year. But especially after the hardships of the pandemic, teachers have to be just as tuned in to getting students comfortable interacting with one another and building trusted relationships with adults at school.

"Clearly we all want to accelerate learning," he said. "But to me, if we can build those connections and all that comes with it to start the fall, that's the big win there."

Many districts have expanded their programs, both in the number of students and the number of days they attend school. Faribault Public Schools added preschool and special education programs to its summer lineup for the first time and expanded summer school from six to nine weeks. In New Prague, the district has doubled middle school summer enrollment and dramatically expanded high school credit-recovery offerings.

Before the pandemic, Burnsville typically had 1,400 elementary and middle school students show up in the summer. This year, that number is closer to 1,800. The program usually has six kindergarten classrooms, Sellars said. There are nine this year and there could have been more; the district had to cap summer enrollment because it couldn't find enough teachers.

Staffing shortages for summer have been a widespread problem, with many teachers feeling burned out from personal and professional pandemic stresses. Some districts have hired more teachers than usual who don't already teach in their districts.

But as COVID-19 case numbers dropped and this year's summer possibilities came into focus, some districts saw teachers who had been wary to sign up to teach. In Faribault, a robust roster of teaching staff has helped the district pick up more students — even after summer school was up and running.

"We've been adding kids every day for the last three weeks," said Taylor Wertish, a fourth-grade teacher and leader of the district's science and technology-focused summer program. "Parents have heard about the cool things we're doing and we're willing to take kids in because we want them here."

Pandemic protocols relax

In some districts, the end of masking requirements has been a draw for some students and school staff. When the school year ended, so did the state's mask mandate for everyone in school buildings.

Students and staff must still wear masks anytime they're on a school bus, but masking decisions elsewhere are now left to districts. Many have opted to tell students and teachers that masks are strongly recommended, especially for unvaccinated people, but not required. A few districts, including Burnsville, require masks indoors but not for outside lessons or play.

Schools are still following other protocols, like tracking and reporting new COVID-19 cases and trying to maintain distance between students in classrooms and hallways. But the changes are visible: more students riding together on buses, few face shields layered on top of teachers' masked faces, less-stringent rules around social distancing.

While public health remains a priority, especially with students younger than 12 still not eligible for a vaccine, school leaders are planning for a fall that will look far different from the last one. This summer, they hope, will serve as a refresher for many students on what it's like to be in a school building all day, five days a week. Especially for those students at home since March 2020, the return won't be as easy as flipping on a switch.

"With our younger students we're focusing on relationships and routines and getting back into the swing of the importance of school as a part of our week and our day," said Adam Kunz, interim director of St. Paul Public Schools' Office of Digital and Alternative Education. "Which pre-2019 would be a crazy thing to say."

Erin Golden • 612-673-4790