MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. — Summer school, something many kids have dreaded throughout history. But what if summer school could be fun?
Let's take you to Marshall County, where students are not only enjoying learning during the summer, they're championed scholars.
Young minds, they're the future, and showing them an extra level of care and empowerment among these scholars goes a long way.
Dr. Libby Parker, the educator coordinator for Heart of the Valley YMCA, says with her long history as an educator, "I know the impact of having the right mindset and working on the heart and making learning fun can have for their overall academic achievement and their trajectory in the future."
Nick Bolding, Principal of Brindlee Mountain Primary School, adds, "when you show kids that you care, they'll care about you. And this is a relationship that's gotta be both ways."
The Heart of the Valley YMCA's Power Scholars Academy, funded through the 21st Century federal grant, is going on its seventh year, working with kindergarten through 6th grade scholars within Marshall and Madison County.
This partnership is done in hopes of keeping these kids moving physically and mentally before they start back up in the fall.
"It's a five week summer program designed to fill that summer gap in learning, which has been intensified because of COVID, the COVID learning loss," Dr. Parker said.
There are around 300 students from different schools experiencing education in a different way.
"We do reading for 90 minutes and math, but it's not traditional. We do a lot of hands-on multisensory, play games. Just have a really fun time learning and then we have afternoon enrichment. It's everything from taking them swimming and learning how to swim two days a week to doing STEM activities and then service learning projects," Dr. Parker said.
Along with multiple field trips throughout the program.
And this year as part of their service learning, these kids are making boxes of crafts for children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Julia Covington, the community engagement coordinator for Guntersville City Schools, says that with this service learning, "they're connecting the dots and understanding that they're doing something beyond themselves for someone else."
It's not just about learning what's in the books it's about kids learning that they're capable of anything.
"We do a lot of affirmations...We have scholars of the day where they are awarded for working through a struggle academically or for having courage at the pool trying to learn something…if they're afraid of swimming, to being kind to other people," Dr. Parker said.
And learning that summer school isn't so bad!