This camp began as a YMCA program and has grown to include partnership from Blaine County School District, College of Idaho, Sun Valley Community School, Far + Wise, and Lee Pesky Learning Center. This program provides summer education coupled with traditional summer camp experiences. This is a fun way to recapture lost learning days, while experiencing the adventure of summer camp. Camp activities will include field trips, group games, camp songs, and outdoor play. Student Campers will need to bring sunscreen, closed toe shoes, a water bottle, 3-4 snacks and backpack. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Fee: This program is FREE and transportation and meals are provided

Register: Melanie Blacker (mblacker@blaineschools.org  208-578-5090)

History and Purpose:

The Y has been working in youth education for the purpose of eliminating the opportunity gap and resulting achievement gap for many years. We have done this work through initiatives like Y Power Scholars Academy and Y After School Club. 

Unfortunately, the outbreak of COVID-19 dramatically impacted children, especially those from lower-income families. It widened the gap significantly. The good news is the Y has been taking action while it is most likely to make a meaningful difference. To address this critical need, we are running significant summer education programs including SummerBridge and Nature Explorer. The Y brings together the College of Idaho, Teach For America, Blaine County School District (BCSD), Sun Valley Community School, Far + Wise, and other community partners to deliver high-quality summer literacy, social- emotional support, ESL (English as a second language), project-based learning and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). 

The Y’s SummerBridge collaboration will serve 250 students in 2024 between Kindergarten and 5th grade each week. These children are identified by BCSD teachers based on needs related to literacy and math. As a result, we are serving our community’s most vulnerable students. Students receive up to 100 hours of academic instruction over the summer using curriculum created by BCSD to support district learning objectives. By aligning resources and support with district curriculum, we recapture lost learning days, improve literacy and math scores, and increase graduation rates. Additional curriculum supporting social-emotional learning and STEM activities will be created by the education staff at the Y.

SummerBridge provides an additional classroom opportunity for students, but it also supports different learning styles and provides significantly lower teacher-to-student ratios. Classrooms include lower student counts with one academic teacher and two teacher’s aids. The program provides a classroom experience that looks and feels like camp. The most important objective is to foster a love of learning and create a sense of success for all students.