Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools offers summer programs in literacy, career education and more

Though classes might not currently be in session, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools has a range of programs and events to engage students of all ages during the summer months. 

Elementary school students 

Read to Achieve is a program for first- through fifth-grade students to develop their reading skills. Arrica DuBose, executive director of Elementary Curriculum Instruction and Federal Programs for the district,  said programs like this are important to prevent the “summer sliding” of students and for “closing gaps” over the summer. 

Another summer program offered by the district — called Read to Me — will allow teachers and staff to read to students in the community during the last two weeks of July. 

"Teachers will be aligned to their specific communities they're working in," she said. "So students can build relationships with teachers before they step in the door in the fall."

DuBose said Read to Me will specifically focus on elementary school students in the Estes Hills and Northside neighborhoods this summer and will continue to expand its reach throughout the coming years.

CHCCS is also offering Jump into Kindergarten, a program meant to help rising kindergartners with their transition into elementary school — especially those without pre-K or daycare experience.

“We want to ensure that they get a jump start on the curriculum but also get used to a school and kindergarten before they step into a school on day one in August,” DuBose said. 

Middle and high school students 

The Advancement Via Individual Determination Summer Bridge Program is an elective program offered over the summer for students to develop their math skills. 

“It's an opportunity for them to get some additional math support over the summer to be able to accelerate into advanced math the following year,” said Robert Bales, executive director of Secondary Curriculum Instruction and Academic Programs. 

Similar to Jump into Kindergarten, CHCCS is hosting Middle School 101 and High School 101 for rising sixth and ninth graders, respectively, to acclimate to their new school environments. 

“Having an opportunity for kids to experience what school kind of looks and feels like before they actually enter into the building really just takes down a lot of the anxiety,” Bales said. 

Outside of academic opportunities, CHCCS will have a variety of career and technical education programs for middle and high school students this summer, including a space camp for middle schoolers.

“At the middle school level, we have a space camp where students are going to get to have a room-sized lunar map, and they’ll create and explore different concepts of space,” Bales said. 

Summer Careers Academy is an opportunity for students to gain vocational experience in multiple fields such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical and more. This eight-week program also includes career training classes at Cedar Ridge High School. 

CHCCS is also hosting a week-long female firefighting program as a part of their Fire Academy training this year. In an effort to diversify this profession, firefighters from across the state are volunteering their time to teach young women about firefighting, Madeline Blobe, executive director for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation, said. 

After completing this program, participants can graduate fully certified to become firefighters. 

Teachers

Blobe said that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation is providing CHCCS teachers with development resources over the summer as well. 

In order to better the conversation about mental health at CHCCS schools, the PSF is aiming to have at least one teacher from each school attend mental health first aid training, she said. 

“We hope to have increased awareness about mental health and also make sure more people have resources to share with someone who is in a mental health crisis,” she said. 

The PSF also supports professional development for teachers over the summer through the Professional Development Impact Grant, Blobe said.

Additionally, the PSF has hosted the Teacher Supply Store event every summer since 2008, allowing teachers to come the week before school starts and gather supplies at no cost to them.

“They can shop for $50 worth of school supplies and then we give everyone a $25 gift card to go buy whatever they need that we might not have in the store,” Blobe said. 

More information about PSF and CHCCS summer programs and events can be found on each organization's respective websites. 

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