PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 9, 2018) – The College Crusade of Rhode Island’s summer learning season starts this month, offering many local youth the opportunity to have fun and acquire new skills while school is out.
A highlight of the summer is the Dolphin Program, a hands-on environmental education experience developed in partnership with the Block Island Maritime Institute. From July 9 to August 10, dozens of College Crusade students in grades 8-11 will spend a week living on Block Island and learning about ecosystems, biodiversity, and sustainability.
Other summer programs for middle school students include Rhode Island Write on Sports, which gets young people involved in creating sports stories and short video reports and learning interviewing and editorial skills, and the Wheeler Summer Program, which offers a three-week hands-on forensics curriculum with a focus on critical thinking and deductive reasoning. A popular summer option is the Crusade Adventure & Academic Program (CAAP), a two-week program in adventure education that develops skills in problem solving, team building, leadership, and healthy risk taking.
Summer programs for high school students include Crusade Summer Experience, which helps to develop skills in public speaking, team building, project planning, and leadership during a week on the campus of University of Rhode Island. In Creative College Essay Writing, students learn how to produce a quality college essay and build writing skills that make them more confident in their expressive abilities. Students entering grade 9 can participate in Passageways, an interactive program on how to make a successful transition to high school, and Math Matters, which helps them improve their math skills and prepare for classroom success. Additional programs for high school are Project Open Door, a weeklong workshop in digital photography hosted by Rhode Island School of Design, the SPIRIT Program, and classes offered by Brown Summer High School and the Johnson & Wales University Career Exploration Program.
College Crusade programming also includes summer transition support for high school graduates who are planning to enroll in college next fall. The UCRU 2 College program offers students starting their first year of college engaging activities and discussions designed to prepare them to navigate the higher education environment.