Art, exercise and science on menu for Milton Elementary FAME students
Students in the Friends at Milton Elementary summer enrichment program are learning new skills and hobbies while maintaining literacy skills, thanks to partnerships formed with local businesses.
FAME coordinators Brittany Bailey and Kacie Goins said 115 FAME students in second through fifth grades are gaining lifelong knowledge through activities provided by The Great STEMporium, CopyCat Painting Parties, Shell We Bounce, Seaside Dojo, the Factory Sports Complex and a local aquatics center.
“This summer, it’s all about experiences and giving back to the community,” Bailey said. “And the goal is to maintain their reading level throughout the summer.”
Some students hadn’t been in a classroom since schools closed in March 2020, Goins said, so social interaction is a big component of the camp, as well as learning routines like mask-wearing.
In the free, six-week program, students start the day with breakfast before attending one of the community partners for activities. They return to class for reading and math enrichment exercises, and are then dismissed with lunch. Free transportation is also provided.
“The camps expose kids to different things the community has to offer,” Goins said. “They can become interested in a new hobby and gain skills.”
Students learn self-awareness and how to trust their instincts at Seaside Dojo, Goins said, and water safety and swimming lessons are very important for students who live near the ocean and bays.
Through Cari Miller’s The Great STEMporium, students learn about the scientific process through experiments and trial and error while daily adding new words to their vocabulary.
Catherine Flaherty of CopyCat Paint Parties guides students in painting a canvas each day, so by the end of the week they take home four pieces of original artwork, Goins said. Flaherty tells students they can’t make mistakes in art, Goins said; rather, she gives them artistic license to dig deep into their creative sides.
Teamwork and sportsmanship are stressed at the Factory, where students engage in all kinds of sports. At Shell We Bounce, children take part in an organized fitness program comprising aerobics and obstacle courses.
At the end of the summer, students will be rewarded with a field trip to Jungle Jim’s.
New to the program this year is a summer academy for 18 kindergarten and first-grade English Language Learners, Goins said. The academy mirrors a typical school day - students are immersed in English language activities half the day, and in Spanish the remainder of the day.
“It prepares them for next year by filling in the gaps remote learning and COVID presented,” Bailey said.
In spring 2019, FAME was awarded a Delaware Department of Education 21st Century Nita M. Lowey Community Learning Center program grant of $320,000 a year for up to five years, for a total of $1.6 million to expand summer and after-school programs and create partnerships with local organizations.
FAME provides enrichment activities to improve the academic success of students from Title I schools. Schools are designated as Title I based on the percentage of students who come from low-income families.
To learn more about FAME or to sign up for the 2021-22 afterschool program, go to friendsatmes.com.
