For the second year in a row, Mount Airy City Schools has been awarded the 21st Century Community Learning Center Summer Mini-Grant. This year’s competitive grant totals $154,000 and is federally funded through the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
This has helped the city school system to provide free kindergarten through eighth grade after-school programming as well as free summer enrichment experiences to students in the community over the past five years. These summer sessions include free transportation, free meals, and high-energy activities that keep students engaged with school four days a week for seven hours.
These funds will directly support the district’s efforts to improve the literacy skills of students through its STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) framework. Plans have been made to continue the partnerships formed during last summer’s popular Blue Bear Bus program. The bus will travel across four community sites this summer on a Monday through Thursday schedule showcasing a weekly agenda of literacy infused STEAM activities. Weeks of operation and themes for the summer are:
• Week of June 13 – Ready, Set, Grow!
• Week of June 20 – STEAM into Summer!
• Week of June 27- RED, WHITE and BLUE!
• Week of July 11- Ocean Week
• Week of July 18 – Fun Fitness
• Week of July 25- Reach for the Stars!
This project will provide access and opportunities for students to get excited about reading rich literature that shows them mirrors (seeing themselves in stories), windows (seeing into others’ worlds and gaining an understanding of the multicultural world), and sliding glass doors (allowing readers to walk into a story) paired with hands-on STEAM activities.
“We are excited to serve our families again through the innovative use of our Blue Bear Bus team of educators and support staff,” said Project Director Penny Willard. “They will facilitate learning with our students and families this summer with the goal of keeping rigorous summer learning alive. Our team is currently planning around a diverse array of weekly themes to inspire our students with creative learning that develops them as lifelong readers, creators, designers, problem solvers, and innovators.”
Every child visiting the bus will walk away with new books to develop their own home library where families can support the love of reading. Research has shown that reading aloud to children may serve as the single most important activity to build knowledge to support a child’s ability to read (Reading Rockets, 2022). This project will also help allow Mount Airy City Schools to deepen its partnership with Reeves Community Center. Reeves works to provide swimming lessons for students of all ages and abilities.
Students and families will also have the opportunity to engage in field trips with the bus team. Educators are excited to take learning on the road and into the real world by visiting Kaleideum North, the Greensboro Science Center, and Dan Nicholas Park.
Families are invited to join the district for these experiences and to strengthen the school-to-family partnerships that enrich the educational opportunities for students. The district realizes the importance of family involvement and knows the impact of dedicated summer investment on a child’s success.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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