Summer school: These arebrtwo words that don't typically get kids jazzed up. But through the QUEST Summer Enrichment Program, summer school is actually fun. It’s because kids do so muchbrmore than sit in a classroom; they get engaged in learning.
Now in its seventh year,brthe QUEST Summer Enrichment Program is a 17-day program organized by Community Storehouse, a nonprofit children’s charity focused on keeping children activebrand thriving in the Keller, Northwest and Carroll Independent School Districts.
QUEST's main focus is onbrimproving reading, but kids who participate in the program get exposure tobrother learning experiences including art, music, science and physical education. Theybralso receive breakfast, a snack and lunch. It's all at no charge. Kids attendbrfor free.
The program, which runsbrfrom 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., is open to children who are currently inbrkindergarten, first or second grade, and who meet the qualifications to attend.brThis summer, 102 students participated: 31 from Northwest ISD, 60 from KellerbrISD, six from IL Texas in Keller, and five from Carroll ISD.
QUEST is different frombrother summer-school programs in that it's geared toward not only identifyingbrand addressing students' academic needs, but also providing an upbeat,brencouraging environment to help students connect what they are learning in thebrclassroom with the world around them.
Some members of the Southlake Style team got to see thebrQUEST program underway at Westlake Academy, and it reminded us of summer camp.brKids, who ranged in age from five to eight years old, were divided by brightlybrcolored shirts into three groups: faith, hope and love.
We saw volunteers guidingbrchildren through fizzing science experiments outside. We saw children creatingbrtheir own construction-paper masterpieces in an art classroom. And we sawbrbooks. Lots and lots of books. Building early literacy skills is a key part ofbrwhat QUEST does.
“Our main focus is onbrimproving reading,” says Tracey Hill, QUEST Director. “Kids have so muchbrconfidence after participating in our program.”
This year's program runsbrthrough July 31. Community Storehouse welcomes new volunteers and donations ofbrall kinds – whether you'd like to contribute financially or you have children'sbrbooks or supplies to donate. Also, consider participating in the nonprofit'sbrupcoming event: the 16th Annual Run in the Dark.
Click here for morebrinformation.