Families in the Greece Central School District have one more week to sign their children up for summer camps offered through the district.
The district has about 100 programs for sports, arts, adventure and summer learning.
“Five, six years ago we had maybe one or two summer programs,” Todd Smith, executive director of curriculum and instruction, said in a school board meeting this week. “And then we had a family needs survey, and we listened to the community and to our community schools’ partners. We recognized this need to begin to grow these programs.”
Greece is one of many local districts offering summer programs, including Brighton, Pittsford, and Rochester.
Coming into this year, summer programming for schools was expected to see cutbacks as this will be the first summer without federal pandemic relief funds that helped boost such offerings.
"The last few years, a lot of this was funded through ARP (American Rescue Plan) money, or COVID money as we sometimes call it,” Smith said. “And so, they did a lot of strategic planning on how to shift this and make it sustainable over the long term.”
Other federal cuts also threaten to hit school districts and nonprofits' budgets. Summer programming had become a go-to for districts nationwide looking for academic recovery after the interruption caused by COVID-19.
A study published in the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration in 2021 found that children who participated in summer day camps reported more interest in academic subjects. “And those who had higher levels of connectedness to camp reported significantly stronger academic and youth development outcomes than those who had lower levels of connectedness.”
At Greece, a number of this year's summer programs focus on enrichment opportunities to help students with change — whether entering school for the first time, moving up grades, or adapting to a new language.
And there is a new “stories, crafts and play” camp for Pre-K and kindergarten-aged children and their parents.
“It's really just an opportunity for our youngest learners to come in, have fun, get acquainted with the school,” Smith said, “and play and read and just get excited about learning for the upcoming year.”
Each middle school has a targeted program for students. And the grant-funded Boys and Girls Summer Club at Arcadia Middle School is expanding this year.
“This is a big focus on ... those tough years in fifth and sixth grade, getting ready for middle school, to ensure those transitions are going well and provide kids academic but also social emotional opportunities to help with that tough time in life,” Smith said.
There's also summer programming to help English language learners hone their skills and fulfill their potential to accomplish “the exciting and amazing things that our students do as we help them grow no matter where they come from,” Smith said.
That includes a new offering for eighth graders who are English language learners who are transitioning to high school.
“Our leadership team has been increasingly interested in expanding summer programming opportunities to Greece families, especially over the past few years," Assistant Superintendent Kelly Flagler said. “Especially as we consistently notice some learning gaps that we hope to continue to close, and those summer months are critical for that.”
The district is also providing free summer meals from July 7 through August 15.
According to the district’s guide, all summer programs are free for families in the district with the exception of the daycare program, KidsCare. However, there is financial assistance available for daycare for families who qualify.
Registration is open until May 16 for most camps.
