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Innovative Pathways High School Summer Program

Jump to: Calendar | Overview | Course Information | Calendar | Attendance | Participation | Transportation | Payment | Withdrawal | Refunds | Contact

All information below has been updated for the 2026 Summer Programs.

Online enrollment requests will open Friday, February 13 at 12 p.m. and will remain open through Friday, February 27 at 12 p.m. For programs and courses that are not full, enrollment requests may be made each month through June.

  • Enrollment requests do not guarantee placement in summer programs.
  • Enrollment requests are NOT first-come, first-served.
  • Families will receive an email when a student is enrolled in a course or added to the applicable course waitlist.
  • For Innovative Pathways High School, enrollment priority will be given to students by their current grade level. Remaining students will be randomly selected and enrolled in their selected course (or alternate course) until that course has been filled.

Overview

The Innovative Pathways High School Summer Program offers high school credit-bearing courses in a variety of content areas and levels to support academic achievement and acceleration for diploma-bound students.

Courses meet five days per week (Monday–Friday) from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:00-4:00p.m. for the afternoon virtual courses.

  • Hammond HS: English, GearUp for 9th Grade, Art, Health, Lifetime Fitness, Spanish 2, ECS, FOT, CRD 1, CRD 2/SBWE courses
  • Howard HS: Math, Science, and Social Studies

Course Information

Carefully review course descriptions, dates and times before submitting an enrollment request.

Summer 2026 Program Calendar

Year-Long (1.0 credit) Courses
(6 weeks)

  • June 24 – July 31 (No classes on Friday, July 3)
Semester (0.5 credit) Courses
(3 weeks)

  • Session 1: June 24-July 14 (No classes on Friday, July 3)
  • Session 2: July 15-July 31

Attendance

Daily attendance and active student participation directly support student achievement. This is especially important during the Summer Program. Students will be meeting the instructional objectives for a full-year/semester course in a compressed six-week/three-week timeframe. Each day is equivalent to 8 ½ days of instruction during the normal school year.

The following policy outlines expectations regarding tardiness and absence:

  • Tardiness: Students arriving after 8:15 a.m. and/or 1:15p.m. will be marked as tardy.
  • Accumulated Tardiness: Every two (2) instances of tardiness will be recorded as one unexcused absence.
  • Missed Class Time: Any student who accumulates 30 minutes or more of missed instructional time, regardless of the reason, will also be recorded as an unexcused absence.
  • Absences: Students who have more than two (2) absences (excused or unexcused) will be withdrawn from the program.
  • Students may only earn credit for assignments due to an excused absence. Students may be excused from class or school only for reasons as specified in the Code of Maryland Regulations, 13A.08.01.02, 13A.08.01.03, 13A.08.01.06, and l3AA.10.01.04(A-B).

Participation and Course Progress

Students are expected to actively participate in class and complete and submit course assignments on their due date. Students who are not making weekly progress or are more than one week behind in the course may be subject to withdrawal from the course. This includes:

  • Not attending in-person classes or logging into Canvas each day.
  • Not submitting assignments by the posted due dates.

Transportation

Transportation is not provided for all students. Limited bus transportation is available via community bus stops – a central bus stop location. Door-to-door or neighborhood bus stops are not provided.

Transportation is available for students:

  • Enrolled in the GearUp for 9th Grade program
  • Retaking a course (credit recovery)
  • Graduating during the High School summer program

Transportation for students not eligible for HCPSS bus transportation will be the responsibility of the student and their parents/guardians. Students must be picked up within 15 minutes of the end of the school day. Alternate transportation may be found through the Regional Transportation Agency (RTA).

Payments and Financial Assistance

Payments

Payments will only be accepted for students who have been enrolled in a course (not on a waitlist). Once enrolled, the parent/guardian will be emailed an invoice from MySchoolBucks outlining the course fee(s). Parents/guardians who do not receive an invoice should search do-not-reply@myschoolbucks.com in their spam/junk email folder.

Download PDF: Summer Programs Payment Instructions

Payments may be made online through MySchoolBucks or by mail. After 10 days past due, the enrollment may be removed. Full payment is due prior to the program start date. If payment is not received in full, the unpaid amount will become a debt and will be entered as an outstanding obligation at your child’s school. All obligations must be satisfied prior to graduation.

  • Online: Payment may be made through MySchoolBucks by debit card, credit card or eCheck (there is a 4% non-refundable service fee).
  • Download the Registration Payment Form and return the completed form with a check or money order payable to Howard County Public School System to:
    HCPSS
    Attn: Innovative Pathways
    10910 Clarksville Pike
    Ellicott City, MD 21042

If an alternate form of payment is needed, please contact the program directly to review payment options. HCPSS cannot take in-person payment (check or money order) without an appointment.

Returned Checks

Checks returned by the bank due to insufficient funds will be assessed a charge. The HCPSS Finance Office has contracted with Envision Payment Solutions, Inc. for the electronic collection of check payments. If the check is returned unpaid, Envision Payment Solutions, Inc. will assess a $35 fee allowed by Maryland state law and charged as an electronic fund transfer.

Financial Assistance

Financial Assistance is available for current HCPSS students. Please visit www.hcpss.org/farms to submit a Free and Reduced Price Meal services (FARMs) application.

Students receiving FARMs automatically receive a 50% tuition reduction upon verification.

Parents/guardians who do not qualify for FARMs but are experiencing a documented financial hardship, or who are unable to afford tuition after the automatic FARMs status-based discounts, may complete a Financial Assistance Application. Financial hardships include unemployment of a parent or guardian, pending foreclosure or eviction and medical hardship. The Financial Assistance Committee will review the completed applications and notify parents/guardians if additional tuition reduction will be applied.

Financial Assistance Applications will be accepted in the following manner (please only submit ONE version):

  • Online: Complete the online form and email the required documentation to IPSummer@hcpss.org
  • Mail: Download the application form and return the completed form and required documentation to:

    HCPSS
    Attn: Innovative Pathways
    10910 Clarksville Pike
    Ellicott City, MD 21042

Withdrawal Requests

Prior to enrollment, a parent/guardian or school counselor may submit a registration withdrawal request online through HCPSS Connect. Instructions for requesting withdrawal are included in the Register for HS Summer Program document.

Refund Requests

Refund requests will only be processed after a withdrawal request has been submitted online through HCPSS Connect prior to the refund deadline.

Tuition paid by check or money order will be refunded in the form of a check mailed to the issuer once the Refund Form is processed. Refunds by check may take 4–6 weeks to process. Tuition paid by credit card will be refunded to the credit card in accordance with the credit card company’s refund procedure less the service charge.

Contact

For questions regarding course selection, contact the student’s school counselor.

Please note that messages sent via email generally will receive a faster response than calling. Phone messages will be returned within 24 hours during the school week.

For program questions: