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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 19 – July 21, 2023, M-F, from 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

PROGRAM LOCATIONS: at Basalt Elementary School, Crystal River Elementary School and Glenwood Springs Elementary 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 11th anniversary of Summer Advantage in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Online Registration

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 19 de junio al 21, 2023 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 y la Escuela Primaria Glenwood Springs. 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 undécimo aniversario de Summer Advantage en Roaring Fork Valley.

Online Registration

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.

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.

Summer Advantage Roaring Fork Valley

provides scientifically proven, cost efficient, summer learning, physical fitness and life enrichment programming.

WHY SUMMER ADVANTAGE? Summer Advantage is an award-winning summer

academic and life enrichment program.

Summit 54
Summit 54
Summit 54 After School Tutoring

Summer Advantage was modeled from extensive national research regarding what makes a summer academic program successful.

 

they want to have fun

they want to have fun

Young children don’t want to “go to school” in the summer – they want to have fun

If the program isn’t “fun” kids won’t attend

If the program isn’t “fun” kids won’t attend

Summer Advantage’s afternoon enrichment programming; Friday field trips; breakfast and lunch; colorful, interesting curriculum materials; interactive teaching methods; and a low-ratio of students to teachers; together entice approximately 550 elementary students to complete the five-week program each summer.

The goal is to encourage children to read.

The goal is to encourage children to read.

The Summer Advantage curriculum is specially designed to appeal to young children with topics that interest them and colorful illustrations and photography.

550 of the lowest achievers attend every summer, many of whom enter our program 1-2 YEARS or more behind their peers

550 of the lowest achievers attend every summer, many of whom enter our program 1-2 YEARS or more behind their peers

The SA curriculum has proven to be effective in both generating enthusiastic participation among young RFS students and in achieving 2.5+ months of academic gains each summer in both reading and math during the five-week program.

In 11 years of

Summit54 Summer Advantage programming

Scholars who attend the Summit54 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.

Summer Advantage is one of the few summer learning programs in the nation scientifically proven to raise student achievement.

Our model offers rigorous, research-based academic instruction in the mornings, a wide variety of hands-on enrichment classes in the afternoons, and approximately two hours of physical activity daily.

Summer Advanatage offers two nutritious meals a day, an average of two hours of daily physical activity and Fun-Tastic Fridays, which consist of educational field trips, college campus visits, and scholar-led community service projects.

Our Scholars

Each summer, more than 600 scholars in grades K-5 attend our program. Below you can find key demographics for summer 2022.

81% of scholars identified Latino, 16% Caucasian, 1% Asian and 1% Other.
71% of scholars qualify for free or reduced price meals during the school year.
44% of scholars were girls and 56% were boys.

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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 Summit54. Together we provide children with fives-weeks of high qualify summer programming in June 19 through July 21, 2023. The program runs 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.

"Students who attend Summer Advantage maintain their reading and math skills throughout the summer without the traditional "summer slide". They start school ready to continue to learn and grow." - Dave Lindenberg, Principal, Sopris Elementary School, Glenwood Springs

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.

Summer Advantage teacher and student
Summit 54

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.

"One student came to us not reading. After a few days of working with him and encouraging him, he was able to read the curriculum's magazine. He said, "Hey, maybe I do know how to read!" He was so happy to read the story to his mom." - Kindergarten Glenwood Springs Teacher

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.

Summer Advantage Goals

"Our daughter has always enjoyed school. Our family is thankful to have this program to continue her education throughout the summer. The fact that this program is free is incredibly beneficial to our family during the summer." - 2nd Grade Parent, Crystal River Elementary

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Enrichment Experiences offered in 2022

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

"I taught yoga and mindfulness. By the end, they all knew all of the poses in a sun salutation and many could actually lead one. My favorite successes were the kids that were so proud of themselves for doing the more difficult poses. They felt so powerful!" - 3rd Grade Basalt Elementary Teacher

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:

Summer Advantage student gardening.
Destination Activities
Aspen MountainTraveled to Aspen Mountain for a gondola ride, picnic lunch, outdoor activities and nature hike.
Crystal River Fish HatcheryToured 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 TownToured of the Ashcroft Ghost Town and explored five different stations of information regarding the historical site and stories of the area.
Redstone CastleLearned 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 CavernsToured 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 FarmToured 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 CollegeToured 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.
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Program Satisfaction

Summit54 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.

Learn More about Summer Advantage USA

Learn More about Summer Advantage USA
Summer Advantage USA

Thank you to all our partner organizations and donors who contribute to making Summit54 programming possible

Platinum Level Donors


Melvyn & Bren Simon Charitable Foundation

Melvyn & Bren Simon Charitable Foundation

Roaring Fork School District RE-1

Roaring Fork School District RE-1

The PEW Charitable Trusts

The PEW Charitable Trusts

Wend II, Inc.

Wend II, Inc.

The Foundation for a Stable Childhood

The Foundation for a Stable Childhood

3 months

gain in math

1:10

educator-to-student ratio

91%

of scholars felt that the adults at Summer Advantage care about them

Contact

625 Main Street, Suite 102B-115
Aspen, CO 81611

info@summit54.org

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