About 500 grinning kindergarten through eighth grade students
emerge from Gilroy public summer camps every day telling tales of
athletic victories, wilderness adventures and academic
”
Aha!
”
moments.
About 500 grinning kindergarten through eighth grade students emerge from Gilroy public summer camps every day telling tales of athletic victories, wilderness adventures and academic “Aha!” moments.
If not for camp, low-income students could fall more than two months behind in math and reading over the summer, according to research cited by the National Center for Summer Learning.
That’s why the Gilroy Unified School District joined forces with the YMCA, the Mexican American Community Services Agency and the South County California Student Opportunity and Access Program to more than double the number of Gilroy children enrolled in a “high-quality summer learning program.”
The partnership, which runs Super Power Summer Camp, is part of a pilot project supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to expand and enhance summer learning opportunities for low-income children in Gilroy, Fresno and Oakland. The partnership received a $130,000 grant from the Packard Foundation to expand its summer program this year.
Carmela Antal didn’t know many statistics, but she knew paying $20,000 for summer camp for her son was too much for her family.
“I could buy a teacher for that price,” she joked.
After placing her 13-year-old son in summer camp – an extension of the district’s after school program which runs throughout the year – Antal saw her son’s grades shoot from D’s and F’s to A’s and B’s, she said.
“I don’t know where he’d be without the program,” she said. “It’s amazing what these teachers have done for him.”
Like Antal, other parents and community leaders testified to the impact of the district’s summer camp.
“There’s nothing like hearing the real story behind the research,” said Basha Millhollen, the district’s assistant superintendent of educational services.
Antal and about three dozen parents and educators toured El Roble Elementary and Brownell Middle schools Thursday – which was proclaimed National Summer Learning Day by President Barack Obama – to see the school district’s summer camp in action. As the group of grown-ups made their way around El Roble’s campus, they were greeted by the tunes of Jazzercise, the swish of swinging tennis rackets, and the squeal of children digging in to delicious and healthy culinary concoctions.
Fridays are usually Salomon Saosedo’s favorite day because that’s when he gets a chance to cool off in the school’s slip and slide. But with fun projects and interesting presentations on the other days, the rest of the week isn’t so bad either, said the bespectacled 8-year-old.
Stationed at a cluster of desks scattered with containers of garlic powder, salt, pepper and lemon juice, he and his friends concentrated on making a tasty salad dressing to pour over a bowl full of torn up iceberg lettuce. Freshly chopped avocados and cucumbers sat nearby. One woman on the tour pointed out that the ingredients didn’t include oil. Not only is the program staff focusing on making educational strides, they’re also teaching children about healthy eating habits and active lifestyles, said camp staff member Mario De Leon.
“I love working with kids and exercising,” he said, before playfully scolding one student for “double dipping.” “Diabetes is the next big issue.”
The five-week program’s reach extends beyond the classroom, said Cindy Hendrickson, who spoke as a mother and as a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney.
“It’s wonderful to see my kids are getting the same kind of guidance when they’re away from me,” she said. Summer camp keeps students on grade level and excited about school so that they don’t drop out prematurely, which would otherwise “makes them very vulnerable to a life of crime,” Hendrickson said. The work that summer school educators are doing with students “has a huge ripple effect,” she said.
With the majority of students coming to the program from low-income families, many can’t afford expensive camps, said Mandy Reedy, GUSD’s after school program administrator. And tough economic times often result in summer learning programs getting the ax, according to the National Center for Summer Learning. But Gilroy is doing the opposite by finding the funds to expand programs and partnering with other local nonprofits to do so, said Ron Farchild, the organization’s executive director.
“I want to be in a place where the community can come together to provide support for young people,” he said. “I want enrichment to become the norm, not the exception. I know Gilroy is a community that’s responding to that challenge.”
