Summer camp…or summer school? Parents are thinking about both. According to Google Trends, interest in both summer camp and summer school is neck and neck.
Why choose just one when you can choose both?
Camp-school partnerships are a promising intervention to increase access to high-quality summer programs for youth at under-resourced public and charter schools.
Together with the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), The American Camp Association created the Camp-School Partnership Demonstration Project, which provided funding to 13 camps this year, each receiving $25,000 toward a camp-school partnership, and matched by $25,000 in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding from school districts, charter networks, and/or community organizations. Funding was made possible through the New York Life Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and the Pinkerton Foundation.
The purpose? To support camps and schools in implementing high-quality, camp-based experiences that support middle-school students’ social-emotional learning and address COVID-related learning loss, along with gathering research that demonstrates the positive effects of camp-school collaboration and builds long-term capacity for successful partnerships.
The result? A life-changing summer experience that provides high-quality learning opportunities.
Mo-Ranch: Outdoor Educational Ministries Summer Camp, is one of the participating programs and a recipient of an NSLA Summer Learning Award. To them, the program has done far more than blend camp and school.
“The camp-school partnership with NSLA and ACA has shone a light on the learning gap that children face these days,” said Julie Chapa of Mo-Ranch. “This program has shown that when kids are allowed to explore, grow, and learn with each other, the effects are seen long after. We see a growth in confidence, effective communication, collaboration, and this growth carries over to the school year. There is a marked difference in the children that can participate in summer learning supported by the schools than those that do not. The camp-school partnership has proven that we know how to improve the learning gap.”
Click here to view the full video of Mo-Ranch’s award acceptance.
I had a chance to learn more about quality summer camps and educational opportunities in this interview with Tom Rosenberg, President/CEO, American Camp Association (ACA).
- How can summer camps help avoid the summer learning slide?
Day and overnight camp are an essential part of summer learning for all ages – providing opportunities for growth and development in natural settings that promote learning, improve social skills and physical fitness, teach kids to take calculated risks in a safe environment, and expand the creative mind. Summer camps present children with year-round learning environments that support how they acquire knowledge and skills, building upon what they learned during the school year, and preparing them for success in the classroom when they return to school in the fall.
Camp also teaches young people the importance of a growth mindset – the belief that their abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and an encouraging learning environment. This is a contrast to a fixed mindset, where people believe their talents and abilities are innate gifts and unchangeable. Those with a growth mindset embrace challenge, perceive effort as a pathway to mastery, and view setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow. They are also more likely to find inspiration in others’ success, fostering an environment of continuous self-improvement and resilience.
- Why is it important for families to find an engaging, safe option for their kids during the summer?
Research shows that camp provides children with a community of caring adults, who nurture experiential education that results in self-respect and appreciation for human value. Children gain a love of learning and are encouraged to pursue their curiosities at camp. Engagement with learning is a key predictor of academic success, and camp is the ideal environment for children to naturally learn the process of engagement.
The camp environment supports the development of a growth mindset in campers, resulting in greater resilience, confidence, social skills, emotional regulation, and more.
When considering a camp, the most important question to ask is if the camp is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA). Accreditation ensures that camps have voluntarily met health and safety standards through a peer-review process. ACA accreditation is the best measure of a camp’s commitment to safety in all 50 states.
- How can camp-school partnerships help address inequalities in education systems?
Camp-school partnerships support camps and schools in implementing high-quality, camp-based experiences that support students’ social-emotional learning and address COVID-related and summer learning loss, along with gathering research that demonstrates the positive effects of camp-school collaboration and builds a long-term capacity for successful partnerships.
These collaborations help students gain social, emotional, and other soft skills through a camp experience, which will help put them on track for the upcoming school year.
Schools and camps participating in the American Camp Association and National Summer Learning Association’s Camp-School Partnership Demonstration Project provide children and families with access to high-quality summer camp experiences. Summer camp experiences are essential to the education of the whole child, and these camp-school partnerships provide students with crucial opportunities to learn beyond the classroom that will help set them up for increased academic success in the new school year.
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