Students Build Language Skills During Summer Camp
This week, 27 W.B. Goodwin Elementary students will be completing the five-week English as a Second Language (ESL) Camp held at Collins Park in North Charleston. This program is a collaborative effort amongst the Boys and Girls Club, the school, Charleston County School District (including the Categorical Programs, ESOL, and Food Service departments), College of Charleston, and North Charleston Parks and Recreation.
Students and their families have loved the program! The children engage in a variety of literacy, art, and physical education activities, all designed to improve lanuague and literacy skills. Throughout the experience, the campers maintain journals in which they reflect upon and record their accomplishments. The experience is not just limited to students. Activities also include a weekly parent informative program and a Mother Read story and activity. Sonya Jones, with Charleston County School District's (CCSD) McKinney-Vento Homeless Education program, recently shared information about services offered by the district.
The program has met each day for four hours Monday through Thursday starting on June 15, and it will end July 16. Bilingual volunteers from College of Charleston have been assisting with the activities, and CCSD's Office of Food and Nutrition has provided lunch. Camp leaders have conducted periodic testing to monitor the students' progress, and the results indicate that the children have improved their skills during the program.
