| Teamwork boosts summer ed program |
By: DAVID HENKE, Staff Writer
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Posted: Saturday, August 2, 2008 12:32 am
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Students participating in the Northfield School District's Summer PLUS program make environmentally-friendly reusable grocery bags under the watchful eyes of Summer PLUS staffers Dylan Miller (left) and Wade Hauser. (News photo by David Henke)
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NORTHFIELD — The last thing a visitor to Northfield Middle School might expect to see on a slow summer day is hundreds of cheering, screaming elementary and middle school students.
Nevertheless, that was the scene in the middle school auditorium last Monday as the school district’s Summer Ventures Play and Learn with Us, or PLUS, program wrapped up with an afternoon talent show.
It has been a banner year for the six-week, tuition-free program, which is designed to provide its roughly 250 enrolled students with non-traditional academic and enrichment opportunities over the summer.
Typically, a student’s day is divided up into two parts: morning classroom sessions and afternoon enrichment activities. In their morning classes, students work on their math, reading and social skills, while in the afternoon they work on anything from baking to arts and crafts projects.
“It’s more like going to a day camp where learning is incorporated,” said Lahna Tran, one of the two Summer Ventures PLUS program coordinators.
This year, for the first time, the program was overseen by a single coordinating position, filled by Tran and her fellow coordinator, Christa Anderson. The creation of the coordinating position is the result of fully collaborative effort between two school district services: Community Education and Targeted Services, which is run through the Alternative Learning Center.
In the past, the ALC and Community Ed each administered one half of the program; the ALC directed morning academic classes, while Community Ed hosted the afternoon enrichment programs.
“I can’t stress enough how this partnership has grown,” said Hannah Puczko, the district’s community services director. “It’s taken us some time to put together a single, cohesive program, and this summer it really popped.”
Puczko said the program was created in 2004, but has morphed and evolved through several stages since.
Part of the program’s success this year can also be attributed to a $34,500 Northfield Area United Way grant, which allowed for a larger staff and funded a number of enrichment projects for the kids.
And, to add icing on the cake, Summer Ventures PLUS was bolstered by 10 TORCH fellows — high school students who led and assisted with activities in the classrooms with Summer Ventures PLUS students.
“Everybody has done their share of the work this summer,” Tran said.
The Summer Ventures PLUS program has certainly reaped the benefits of all the teamwork; fewer kids dropped out of the program, which is open for kindergarten through eighth grade students, and Puczko believes all constituent parts of the program have finally gelled together.
“It’s like night and day,” Tran said.
Summer Ventures PLUS officially ended on Tuesday, but thanks to a partnership with the Northfield YMCA and Emmaus Church, the school district will hold three-hour afternoon enrichment programs for students two days a week for the rest of the summer.
— David Henke can be reached at dhenke@northfieldnews.com or 645-1100.
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