YMCA, BUSD camp target summer learning loss
Educational disadvantages present themselves in many forms.
That is the crux and crusade behind a partnership between the Burbank YMCA and Burbank Unified School District as the duo have just completed their fourth annual Burbank Community YMCA Learn, Grow, Thrive summer camp at Emerson Elementary School.
The six-week summer session finished Friday after providing no-cost, full-day academic and enrichment programs, along with lunch for 160 low-income district elementary students.
“Summer learning loss is real and significant, and there are just way too many folks in our low-income and minority populations who experience this,” said Mary Cutone, YMCA president and chief executive. “The overall goal is to close the achievement gap.”
The camp’s purpose is to reverse summer learning loss and help build confidence so that students can be better prepared for the upcoming school year.
Cutone said the average student suffers a two-month learning loss of reading and math skills over the summer, which makes the first portion of every school year a process of simply catching up.
The hybrid summer school and summer camp opened its gates at 8 a.m. each day, with instruction beginning at 8:30 a.m. and care provided until 6 p.m.
A group of 25 Burbank Unified teachers and YMCA counselors utilized the Bell “Power Scholars Academy” curriculum, which integrates literacy and math academic lessons with interactive field trips and daily activities.
“We used this brand-new curriculum last year, and the results were great,” said Angela Buck, YMCA senior director of child and youth development. “Students have fun and they learn, which is what we’re striving for.”
“Summer learning loss is real and significant and there are just way too many folks in our low-income and minority populations who experience this.”
— Burbank YMCA President and CEO Mary Cutone
Students are tested prior to camp and at its conclusion for assessment purposes.
Last year’s results, provided by Cutone, demonstrated that the camp not only halts summer learning loss but sends students back to school two months ahead in reading skills and three months in math skills.
“This is really a wonderful partnership between the district and YMCA,” said Peter Knapik, Burbank Unified director of elementary education.
On a recent Thursday afternoon, fourth-graders gave a tour to benefactors and VIPs demonstrating what they’ve accomplished during the summer.
Ten-year-old Miller Elementary student Monika Mkrtchyan proudly pointed to her report on the infamously brutal Trail of Tears, when, between 1838 and 1839, the United States government forcibly moved the Cherokee nation from the Mississippi River region into Oklahoma.
Mkrtchyan’s report was a journal-type entry that recalled the harsh conditions along the journey.
“I wasn’t there, but I read about it, and it was really sad,” she said. “It was scary.”
Mkrtchyan, McKinley student Isabella Antigua and Washington pupil Jayden Ubillus later all displayed their artistic contributions in a Jackie Robinson mosaic.
For Antigua, not only did she enjoy learning about the Brooklyn Dodgers trailblazer but, as a bonus, she enjoyed her first visit to Chavez Ravine, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, on one of the field trips.
“I had never been there before,” Antigua said. “It was so beautiful and so much fun. I want to go back.”
Every Friday, campers took part in a field trip, which can be a rare treat for some low-income students, Cutone said. Besides Dodger Stadium, field trips included locales such as the California Science Center and an educational matinee at Medieval Times.
Nine-year-old Miller student Santy Chacie could hardly contain himself while talking about his expectations of Medieval Times.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
He and Providencia student David Baron gave a tour of their third-grade class and showed off their projects, including a village complete with snow made from baking soda and hair conditioner.
Cutone said one-third of the camp’s funding comes from the school district through its Title I program, while the other two-thirds is provided by donor contributions and grant funding.
While the camp has concluded, the quest for more funding is evergreen.
“I’m going to shout it from the rooftops: We need everyone’s help,” Cutone said. “We need the business community and the nonprofit community, school districts and public sectors. This is our community.”
