MBX Flex is a valuable alternative to traditional Costa summer school

By Maysen Marolda

Opinion Editor

In addition to traditional MBX summer school, the MBX foundation announced to Mira Costa families that it will begin MBX Flex this summer as an alternative summer school option to summer courses at outside institutions such as Halstrom. Since traditional summer school dates do not always work for students, the MBX program will allow students to choose a schedule that fits their needs.

Under the new MBX Flex program, students will meet with certified teachers for approximately 20 two-hour block sessions, plus proctored tests. The teacher-student ratios that will be offered are one-to-one, one-to-two or one-to-three. The coursework will be Western Association of Schools and Colleges accredited and will be accepted for credit on Mira Costa High School transcripts, according to the Mira Costa newsletter. MBX will offer courses in World History, United States History and Geometry, and one semester of each United States Government and Economics.

MBX Flex works to ensure that students learn and master the course curriculum but under a flexible schedule. The program’s purpose reveals that MBX Flex is more accommodating to students than traditional summer school where a fixed schedule is in place, MBX Executive Director Jennifer Williams said. This aspect is helpful for students because they will not have to plan their other activities around summer school dates.

Under the guidelines of MBX Flex courses, students may start their respective course beginning the weeks of June 18, June 25, July 2 and July 9, and all courses must be completed by August 10 to earn credit. The option for students to start their course on any one of four dates is beneficial to students; if there is a prior commitment that conflicts with this year’s traditional summer school start dates of June 18 or July 9, students  will not be deterred from taking a summer course.

For the first year of MBX Flex, the classes offered are the classes that MBX feels are in the most demand; however, in the future, MBX will offer other classes if it feels that there is a need, Williams said. The fact that MBX will take time at the end of summer to analyze the program and to see if students are indeed taking advantage of this flexible system is wise, as they can then make any necessary changes for the following summer.

According to MBX Foundation, a two semester course will cost $4,500 for a one-to-one student ratio, $2,400 for a one-to-two student ratio and $1,600 for a one-to-three student ratio. These costs are significantly greater than the cost for a traditional MBX summer school course, where a two semester course is only $500. However, it is evident that Costa families are willing to pay more money in order to take a course that works around a student’s schedule, as demonstrated by student enrollment at schools such as Halstrom and Fusion. Furthermore, this high cost of an MBX Flex course is beneficial to MBX since MBX is responsible for funding many important projects around campus, such as the renovation of the Meadows Field. Thus, the addition of MBX Flex will generate more funds for MBX, which will ultimately allow them to continue to make improvements to the Costa campus.

With the new History grading system that allows students to earn an A if they receive a 78% or above, it seems that MBX may believe the grade inflation incentive for students to take history over summer may disappear this year. MBX may feel that they will lose funds that they normally acquire during summer school sessions. Therefore, it may be that the creation of MBX Flex is a way to recuperate some of the money that they will lose from students who opt to take classes during the year.

The MBX Foundation’s new summer school alternative MBX Flex allows students to take a course over summer with much more flexibility as opposed to the strict schedule that traditional summer school adheres to, which will allow for students to take the classes they are passionate about during the school year, or pursue other activities during summer. Although MBX Flex courses are nearly twice the amount of a traditional summer school course, the freedom it grants students is invaluable.