Registration for the FREE Summer Advantage program is currently available for Kinder through 5th grade students in Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs. Applications for Teachers and Teacher Assistants also being accepted.
PROGRAM DATES: June 20 – July 22, M-F, from 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
PROGRAM LOCATIONS: at Basalt Elementary School, Crystal River Elementary School, Glenwood Springs Elementary School and Ross Montessori School. Daily free bus transportation is provided by the Roaring Fork Schools.
The Summer Advantage FREE academic and life enrichment program is available to all elementary aged children who live in the Roaring Fork Schools’ boundaries (13 schools). The program is sponsored by Summit54 and Roaring Fork Schools. This is the 10th anniversary of Summer Advantage in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Actualmente, la inscripción para el programa Summer Advantage GRATUITO está disponible para estudiantes de Kinder a quinto grado en Basalt, Carbondale y Glenwood Springs. También se aceptan solicitudes para maestros y asistentes de maestros.
FECHAS DEL PROGRAMA: del 20 de junio al 22 de julio, de lunes a viernes, de 8am a 2:30 pm.
UBICACIO NES DEL PROGRAMA: en la Escuela Primaria Basalt, la Escuela Primaria Crystal River, la Escuela Primaria Glenwood Springs y la Escuela Ross Montessori. Las escuelas de Roaring Fork ofrecen transporte gratuito diario en autobús.
El programa de enriquecimiento académico y de vida GRATUITO Summer Advantage está disponible para todos los niños de primaria que viven en los límites de las escuelas Roaring Fork (13 escuelas). El programa está patrocinado por Summit54 y Roaring Fork Schools. Este es el décimo aniversario de Summer Advantage en Roaring Fork Valley.
Student registration is currently available on-line at www.Summeradvantage.org in both Spanish and English. Registration is also available via phone: 1-866-924-7226 (*9 for Spanish).
Applications for teachers and teacher assistants are also available on-line at www.Summeradvantage.org.
Each program day Monday-Thursday includes:
Cada día del programa de lunes a jueves incluye:
The enrichment programs include classes such as art, music, dance, yoga, video game programming, and environmental studies. Scholars have the same two enrichment classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and two other enrichment classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
FunFridays are action packed with activities, games, field trips, a student-led community service project and a visit to Colorado Mountain College.
All 70 Summer Advantage educators participate in a mandatory one-week teacher training. Teachers and Teaching Assistants learn how to be more effective educators and social/emotional coaches. By placing high quality teachers in our classrooms with no higher than a 1:11 educator-to-student ratio, we ensure personalized instruction and mentoring.
Over our 10-year history, participants gain an average of 2.5 months in reading and math skills during the five-week Summer Advantage program while having a blast! Educators make learning fun.
Summit54 partners with Roaring Fork Schools and Summer Advantage USA to provide this program FREE of charge to participants. Many other local organizations also provide services such as the USDA Summer Food Program, Focused Kids, Valley Settlement, Mountain Family Health Centers, and Food Bank of the Rockies.
To date, Summit54 has contributed more than $6 million dollars in support of this free academic and life enrichment program for elementary aged children who reside within the Roaring Fork School District (13 elementary schools).
Los programas de enriquecimiento incluyen clases de arte, música, danza, yoga, programación de videojuegos y estudios ambientales. Los estudiantes tienen las mismas dos clases de enriquecimiento los lunes y miércoles y otras dos clases de enriquecimiento los martes y jueves.
Los FunFridays están llenos de acción con actividades, juegos, excursiones, un proyecto de servicio comunitario dirigido por estudiantes y una visita a Colorado Mountain College.
Los 70 educadores de Summer Advantage participan en una capacitación docente obligatoria de una semana. Los maestros y asistentes de maestros aprenden cómo ser educadores y entrenadores sociales/emocionales más efectivos. Al colocar maestros de alta calidad en nuestras aulas con una proporción de educador por estudiante de no más de 1:11, aseguramos instrucción y tutoría personalizadas.
Durante nuestros 10 años de historia, los participantes obtienen un promedio de 2.5 meses en habilidades de lectura y matemáticas durante el programa Summer Advantage de cinco semanas mientras se divierten mucho. Los educadores hacen que el aprendizaje sea divertido.
Summit54 se asocia con Roaring Fork Schools y Summer Advantage USA para brindar este programa GRATIS a los participantes. Muchas otras organizaciones locales también brindan servicios, como el Programa de alimentos de verano del USDA, Focused Kids, Valley Settlement, Mountain Family Health Centers y Food Bank of the Rockies.
Hasta la fecha, Summit54 ha contribuido con más de $6 millones de dólares en apoyo de este programa académico y de enriquecimiento de vida gratuito para niños de primaria que residen en el distrito escolar de Roaring Fork (13 escuelas primarias).
Student registration is currently available on-line at www.Summeradvantage.org in both Spanish and English. Registration is also available via phone: 1-866-924-7226 (*9 for Spanish).
Applications for teachers and teacher assistants are also available on-line at www.Summeradvantage.org.
La inscripción de estudiantes está actualmente disponible en línea en www.Summeradvantage.org en español e inglés.
La inscripción también está disponible por teléfono: 1-866-924-7226 (*9 para español).
Summer Advantage Roaring Fork Valley
provides scientifically proven, cost efficient, summer learning, physical fitness and life enrichment programming.
The Summer Advantage program harnesses the power of summer learning to help children (whom we call scholars) raise their achievement, become healthier and more physically fit, improve their self-esteem, and return to school better prepared to succeed academically, with stronger minds and bodies.
WHY SUMMER ADVANTAGE? Summer Advantage is an award-winning summer
academic and life enrichment program.
Summer Advantage was modeled from extensive national research regarding what makes a summer academic program successful.
In 9 years of Summit 54 Summer Advantage programming
Over the past nine years, scholars who attend the Summit 54 Summer Advantage program advance 2.5 months in their reading and math skills each summer. Without access to a high-quality summer academic program, low-income students typically regress three months during the long summer break.
This positive turnaround
of more than five months makes a significant impact on children’s academic readiness for the following school year.
Our Scholars
Each summer, more than 525 scholars in grades K-5 attend our program. Below you can find key demographics for summer 2021.
76% of scholars identified Hispanic, 17% Caucasian, 1% African American and 6% Other.
68% of scholars qualify for free or reduced price meals during the school year.
44% of scholars were girls and 56% were boys.
Program Dates & Hours
The Roaring Fork Valley Summer Advantage program is possible through a three-way partnership with the Roaring Fork School District, Summer Advantage USA and Summit 54. Together we provide children with six-weeks of high qualify summer programming in June and July. The first week includes teacher training, parent engagement, and scholar fitness. The following five-weeks run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Overall, our scholars receive an additional 25 days, or 162 total hours of dynamic summer learning that includes rigorous academics, physical fitness, nutritious meals and a wide array of life enrichment experiences.
High-Quality Educators
To ensure our scholars work with well-qualified educators, we utilize an industry-leading, multi-tiered process for selecting educators that includes several interviews and analysis of student data. Through this intensive screening process, Summer Advantage selects approximately 70 educators to serve our scholars each summer including Teachers, Teacher Assistants, Program Managers, Assistant Program Managers, and Operations Administrators. By placing 60 high-quality teachers in our classrooms, we are able to maintain small classes and a 1:10 educator-to-student ratio to ensure personalized instruction for our scholars.
Professional Development
In addition to undergoing a rigorous selection process, our educators participate in 20 hours of skill-based training prior to the start of the program. Pre-service training includes ten hours of self-paced online learning and 18 hours of face-to-face professional development covering topics such as collaboration and engagement, checking for understanding, social emotional support, curriculum support, COVID procedures and more. As a result of the dynamic professional development and program experience, our educators overwhelming report an increase in their professional skills.
Academic Results
Based on the nationally-normed exam, STAR Reading and Math, our scholars demonstrate an average of 2.5 months of academic gains, including an average of 2 months gain in reading and 3 months gain in math over the course of the program each summer.
As we previously shared, this represents a significant turnaround for our scholars. Children living in low-income communities typically experience 3 months of summer learning loss. The gains made by our scholars position them to progress towards academic success in the coming school year. On average, over 86% of scholars attend the program daily.
Enrichment Experiences offered in 2021
- STEAM Challenges: This enrichment involved a variety of hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art or math) activities that required collaboration and teamwork. Student groups were presented with multi-step directions that challenged them to work with given materials, such as building the sturdiest bridge they can using only toothpicks and mini marshmallows. The class encouraged critical thinking skills and healthy competition to create high quality work.
- Career Exploration: This enrichment involved students researching, learning, and sharing information with their classmates about careers they found interesting. Students also learned about the components of a job application and how to highlight their strengths. In addition, students practiced the interview process through answering questions about themselves.
3. Healthy Eating and Movement: This enrichment focused on what healthy eating really looks like through literature, videos, and making healthy snacks at school. Movement was incorporated into the class to show scholars how they can build a healthy body and mind through stretching, proper exercise moves, and relaxation techniques.
4. Geography and Map Games: Scholars explored different countries around the world using maps, videos, and songs. We challenged scholars to locate specific countries on the globe and expand their cultural knowledge about the world.
5. Mindfulness and Yoga: With anxiety, attention difficulties, and mental health issues on the rise, this class focused on mindful breathing, positive thinking, and creating a positive mindset. Scholars learned mindfulness techniques through yoga and stretches to help relax and strengthen the mind and body.
Field Trips & Community Service Projects
On Fridays, Summer Advantage scholars participate in engaging educational field trips which allow them to deepen relationships with their families, build connections to their community, and envision pathways for their futures.
The “Fun Friday” experience is integral to our program. In previous year, scholars had the opportunity to learn about the rich history of Colorado by visiting the Glenwood Springs Railroad Museum, the Ice Age Discovery Center, and Glenwood Caverns. They also visited Ashcroft Miner’s Town, where scholars learned about the boom and bust cycle in economies, and toured the mountain side of Aspen where they got to see the remarkable sites of the valley in which they live.
We value community engagement and aim to promote this service-mindedness in our program. For example, scholars had the opportunity to work with Roaring Forks Outdoor Volunteers on a service learning project where they helped restore and beautify the local bike pump track. The event also hosted several guests including Carbondale Branch Library, Colorado Mountain College, and Lucky Day Animal Rescue, who taught our scholars how to safely approach animals.
Below you can find some of the wonderful field trips that our scholars experienced:
| Destination | Activities |
|---|---|
| Aspen Mountain | Traveled to Aspen Mountain for a gondola ride, picnic lunch, outdoor activities and nature hike. |
| Crystal River Fish Hatchery | Toured the fish hatchery to learn about the importance of maintaining fish populations in Colorado lakes, rivers and streams. They also had the opportunity to feed the fish! |
| Ashcroft Ghost Town | Toured of the Ashcroft Ghost Town and explored five different stations of information regarding the historical site and stories of the area. |
| Redstone Castle | Learned about the history of Redstone, a coal town founded by John Cleveland Osgood. They had a chance to tour the historical castle and play at the town park. |
| Glenwood Caverns | Toured the caves in Glenwood Caverns. Through the experience, scholars learned about conservation of the fragile cave ecosystem, the importance of being stewards for the environment, and how pollution affects the cave systems. |
| Sopris Alpaca Farm | Toured a working Alpaca farm to learn how local farmers use Alpaca fiber for making knitted and woven items, similar to sheep’s wool. |
| Colorado Mountain College | Toured residence halls, the cafeteria, and academic classrooms on a real college campus. Counselors spoke with scholars about the importance of good grades, working towards goals and what a college education can do for their future. |
Program Satisfaction
Summit 54 and our partners want to provide the best summer experience for all who participate in the program. We are focused on improving academic results, but we also care about the engagement and satisfaction of our scholars, families, and educators. We are very pleased to share some of the following highlights from our survey:
98% of parents would recommend the program to other families.
87% of teachers would recommend the program to parents looking for an educational summer program.
83% of scholars felt that the adults at Summer Advantage care about them.
We’re thankful for the overwhelming support
Platinum Level Donors
Fullerton Family Foundation
Melvyn & Bren Simon Charitable Foundation
Roaring Fork Schools
Wend Foundation
The PEW Charitable Trusts
The Lewis Foundation
Glickman Foundation