Summer slide isn’t that big, twisting thing you ride before splashing into a pool, it’s the tendency for students, especially those from low-income and/or minority families, to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year.
To help avoid that, Gwinnett County’s Hispanic Mentoring Program is offering its second year of summer camp to help enrich and motivate youth.
Starting Monday, June 22, students will focus one week on literacy and STEAM (science, technology, English, arts and math).
Aimed at Gwinnett County Public School middle schoolers, supplies were distributed to students at their neighborhood school or delivered to their homes.
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The Atlanta Hawks awarded Hispanic Priority memberships for all of the mentees for the Squawk Hawk. The mentees will receive a box with free goodies such as a t-shirt, backpack, etc. lots of Hawks related stuff.
The non-profit Latino Community Fund also provided a large bag of groceries including fresh fruit and vegetables for each family.
Students received books to take home to read over the summer, and some for their siblings too.
And new this year is a second week which starts in July will focus on coding. The National Hispanic Heritage Foundation became a sponsor to ensure HMP can provide this engagement.
“I wanted to add another level of support for our kids, some whose parents are limited in the level of support they can provide,” said Nury Crawford, Director of Academic Support for Gwinnett Schools and head of HMP. “I try to be the caring adult I needed in my life growing up.”
It’s not too late for students to sign up.
Click here.
And if organizations want to learn how to start their own group, the Guide to Launching Your Own #HMP is available at no cost.
The HMP, Hispanic Mentoring Priority, was officially launched in February 2019. It is the third priority in the Gwinnett County Public Schools Community-Based Mentoring Program.
In 2019 it started its journey into supporting Latino / Hispanic middle school students in two clusters: Berkmar and Meadowcreek. Every school year it will expand its reach and invite other middle schools to join. The priority hosts various workshops, events, and conferences throughout the school year that focus on cultural awareness and pride, STEM, post K-12 education, mental health and community partnerships.
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Information: WhatsApp: 404-308-7542, Office: 770-277-4489, Email: nury.crawford@gcpsk.12.org
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