It's not uncommon for Carol Kampa's phone line at Kennedy High School to light up during late April and May with calls from parents who want to sign up children for summer courses to "keep them busy."

After more than a decade in education, Kampa has mastered the art of gentle yet firm persuasion. The Kennedy High assistant principal reminds parents that the main goal of the summer program is to give students another chance to graduate.

As Minnesota schools strive to boost graduation rates as well as to meet testing goals under the federal No Child Left Behind law, some local districts have put more effort into encouraging students to attend summer school to retake courses they failed.

More than 425 Bloomington high school students -- roughly 12 percent of the district's secondary population -- were in class at Kennedy High last week. It's one of Bloomington's largest summer sessions in years.

Bloomington officials contacted more than 500 parents this spring and launched a "credit recovery" effort for students who failed courses during the academic year.

The district's main goal is for students to pass courses during the regular school year, but at-risk students may hide that they're struggling, Kampa said.

So contacting the parents "empowered them," she said, making them realize, "Hey, I need to get my kid in school."

Robbinsdale sees increase

Robbinsdale School District in the north metro has made similar efforts in recent years. More than 30 percent of the students in both suburban districts qualify for free- and reduced-price meal programs, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

Both districts offer transportation and breakfast programs this summer.

"Our demographics are changing and we didn't want that to be a barrier," Kampa said.

Robbinsdale also reported a slight increase in summer school enrollment this year. More than 950 students were taking summer school classes last week at Cooper High School in New Hope or online courses at the nearby Winnetka Learning Center, district officials said.

That means about one in five of the district's secondary students are enrolled in summer classes.

"The counselors did a lot of follow-up with students this spring," said Dina Lucas, Robbinsdale's summer school coordinator.

Striving to make AYP

More than 70 percent of the secondary students enrolled in Bloomington's summer courses attend Kennedy High during the school year, while the remaining students attend Jefferson High.

According to the Minnesota Department of Education, Kennedy High didn't meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals among all groups of students on state reading and math exams in 2006-07, while Jefferson did. But both schools met state goals for graduation rates.

Kennedy High's graduation rate exceeded 96 percent in 2007. Jefferson High's rate topped 98 percent. Roughly 1,700 students attend each Bloomington high school.

Kennedy High student Breanna Henderson, 15, said it didn't take much encouragement for her to enroll in a social studies course this summer. Henderson said she knew she needed to retake it to graduate, and her mom knew it too.

Last week she stood with several other students as they hovered near a sign at the Pond-Dakota Mission Park in Bloomington. They read historical information about the former mission site to answer questions from a quiz designed by their teachers.

Bloomington teachers Katie Gagstetter and Kacie Leicher said their field trips this summer are related to Minnesota history. Their English and social studies classes will visit the "Minnesota 150" exhibit at the Minnesota History Museum in St. Paul later this month.

"I think it's a good way to learn," Henderson said, "to actually be somewhere and see things. I'm looking forward to the trips to the Capitol and the history museum."

Gagstetter pointed out that while school isn't at the top of most teenagers' summer wish lists, they usually have a good attitude about it and want to do well.

"The kids are so much calmer and focused in the summer," she said. "It helps."

Patrice Relerford • 612-673-4395