Click here to listen to the story:
RPS Chief of Curriculum Heidi Dettman says the big difference this year isn’t just more offerings but placing them at community center sites across Rockford.
“That takes our RPS teachers and it puts them right in the neighborhood of where their students live. And they can interact with them in a completely different way,” she said.
Dettman says it also let them align their curriculum with the community centers’ learning programs.
Anisha Grimmett is the executive director of Alignment Rockford. She says that the pandemic is going to affect students long after this school year. They want to make sure new student engagement programs like this don’t fade away.
ROCKFORD What is billed as an unprecedented summer extended-learning initiative to help Rockford area students rebound from the academic and emotional challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic was unveiled Tuesday at Washington Park Community Center, 3617 Delaware St.
The program, called Live, Learn, Play, combines educational curriculum with recreational programs to help prepare students for college and careers.
The city of Rockford, Alignment Rockford, the Rockford Park District and Rockford Public Schools are collaborating with more than 30 community partners to merge academic support into existing programs throughout the city.
“It’s important that we continue to try new creative things and collaborate in new ways to keep this era of youth and teens active and engaged, especially during the summer time,” Rockford Park District Operations Director Danielle Potter said. “Here at Washington Park, youth and teens who will be attending our summer camp will take part in learnin