~ EastSide KidVenture ~
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During the school year, K-6th grade children were invited to participate in 14 day camps during school release days. Tweleve High School students were able to join the East Side Teen Teacher Corps, hired to work with younger youth participating in EastSide KidVenture. Youth who participate in the East Side Teen Teacher Corps program attended leadership and skill development workshops during the school year. Each day, four different workshops designed around a camp theme are provided by community instructors and each child experiences each workshop during the course of the day. A sampling of camp themes during the 2007-2008 school year included: Art Around the World Camp, Pirate Camp, Dream Camp, Acting Up Theatre Camp, Bookarts Camp, and Arctic Explorers Camp.
During the summer children could attend 10 weeks of free summer camp that immerses them in diverse learning themes that explore the neighborhood and engender a sense of place and pride. During each three-week section of the summer, three cohorts of K-4th graders rotated through weeklong learning themes each led by a different community teacher. Over the course of the summer, K-4th graders have the opportunity to explore over 13 different weeklong themes culminating in a Finale Week. The 5th – 7th grade youth had their own camp designed to better engage this age group that is transitioning from childhood to early adolescents. These older youth explored "Home, Hope and Hip-Hop," community issues of their choosing and worked with a diverse cohort of community artists to explore this issue over the course of the summer. Through the East Side Teen Teacher Corps program, 12 high school students were hired to act as Junior Group Leaders and are paid through the City’s Youth Job Corps program. Teen Teachers continue their leadership development through weekly staff meetings during the summer. During summer school, youth easily transitioned to summer camps offered from 1-5 pm with lunch from noon-1. When summer school ended, summer camps are expanded to operate for a full day and include breakfast. The East Side Learning Collaborative's vision for our diverse Payne Phalen and Dayton's Bluff neighborhoods: People of all ages are positive, responsible, contributing partners who know they belong; who guide and support our children; and who support all our children and work together to create and sustain quality opportunities for young people to learn, grow, and lead. Funding provided by the East Side Learning Collaborative through a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education's After-School Learning Communities Program. |
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