4 ways digital tools streamline summer program administration

Summer school is more important than ever this year as school administrators establish new learning programs to give K–12 students an opportunity to catch up on schoolwork and enrichment programs they missed during the pandemic. The federal government is also paying extra attention to summer programs, earmarking $1.2 billion in its massive relief package.

By the end of the 2020–2021 academic year, most U.S. schools were open, but administrators are still taking precautions to mitigate potential virus outbreaks among staff and students. This will be the norm for the foreseeable future since vaccines are widely available for staff and older children but haven’t yet been approved for younger kids.

Last year, teachers and school administrators adopted digital tools in greater numbers than ever before. Companies offering tools like online forms saw a spike in demand, and they are now seeing it rise again as schools organize summer learning programs.

Here are four ways digital tools are helping educators get summer learning programs, instructors, and students ready:

• Registration forms and secure payment integrations: Instead of signing up students in person and handling payments for events and merchandise manually, administrators are using digital forms. Schools can brand the forms for a professional look and feel, and once administrators create a custom template, they can reuse it for other purposes. It’s a good idea to select digital registration and payment forms that work on desktop, tablet and mobile devices while enabling encrypted payment through trusted sources.