Camp keeps Springfield kids learning to stop summer slide

Learning didn’t stop this summer for 72 Lincoln Elementary School students.

The Bobcat Summer Adventure Camp, a six-week enrichment program for kindergarten through sixth grade sponsored by the Springfield Promise Neighborhood, supplemented what the students learned in summer school with reading and writing activities with themes on the natural world, the arts and athletics.

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These included field trips to a pool, COSI, a zoo and a baseball game, which was unfortunately rained out.

The camp’s mission is to increase academic scores, social opportunities and healthy exercise.

“I always look forward to summer to support the kids and give them something cool to do,” said Kali Lawrence, executive administrator of Springfield Promise Neighborhood. “Parents and kids love it. I get asked all yearround when camp is.”

The program is supported by a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant.

Lawrence, who has seen the camp grow from its inception in 2012, said its ongoing success is due to Lincoln teachers and schools who want to see it succeed and the realization of a gap for summer activities, particularly kids from lower-income neighborhoods, needed to be met.

The program was supported by AmeriCorps Summer VISTA members from local colleges and others.

Traci Lopez, who volunteers with the camp, has watched her son Malakhi’s growth since joining the program in second grade. He’ll enter fifth grade in August.

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“It’s helped his attitude, helped him read a lot better and boosted his confidence a lot, changed his whole outlook,” she said.

Lopez, whose other younger son, Dominic, also participated, was impressed kids could learn about everything from rain in the natural world segment to rap music in the arts segment.

“Kids are exposed to violence and bad things. This gives them hope, confidence,” she said.

At the program’s year-end celebration last week, Springfield Promise Neighborhood in partnership with Community Health Foundation launched a new program.

Give Kids a Smile is a new dental health initiative that exposes kids to a dental services and the chance to meet a dentist in a non-threatening atmosphere.

Joan Elder, program coordinator for Community Health Foundation, said she was thrilled with the support and pleased with the results.

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Dr. Kayvon F. Nezhad was glad to help the cause, meeting several students and teaching them about dental health. He’d been trying to get the program going in the area for several months.

“We really hope we can do this every year, not just one time,” Nezhad said.

Robert Welker, director of Springfield Promise Neighborhood, said the summer program is about narrowing the achievement gap for kids to do better in school and exposing them to opportunities.

“Community Health Foundation reaching out was another opportunity and we had a team of young people who gave up their time to work here,” he said. “We’ve had a good summer and we’re looking forward.”

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