SETUP Makes Summer Learning Fun

For six fun- and learning-filled weeks, children attending SETLC’s academic and tennis summer camp--called SETUP (Strengthening Education Through Upgraded Programs)--explored new horizons and developed skills that will help them succeed in the new school year.

Each weekday morning, campers started the day with Lift Every Voice, a 30-minute session that often featured special guests reading aloud as children acted out the book-of-the-day’s storyline. Then, Monday through Thursday, students explored the world through Voyager, a curriculum-based reading program that took students on imaginary journeys to Africa, Egypt, Greece and ancient Rome. Through a companion curriculum, Moving with Math, students learned math concepts through creative activities, such as building an Egyptian pyramid to explore geometric shapes.

Afternoons were spent in activities that included arts and crafts, chess and sewing, as well as TechnoFit Kids -- building computer skills while learning about fitness and nutrition -- and learning to play the game of tennis.

SETUP capped each week with special Friday field trips, ranging from excursions to museums in the District of Columbia and Baltimore to a day in a water park. For many SETLC campers, a high point of the summer was attending a performance of The Color Purple at the Kennedy Center. There, they received a special surprise when they came face-to-face with season three American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino.

All of this added up to a season of success. Over the summer--when most students experience learning loss-- many SETUP campers maintained or even improved their reading and math proficiencies. On average, students raised their reading comprehension by 25 percent, and doubled their math skills. As a result, they will enter school in the fall ready to learn and achieve.