Ep 139 | Are you ready for summer camp?

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We ask what motivates your child, because every single child is different, and everyone has different motivating factors. We ask about areas of interest, and these are just a few examples, but are they interested in acting, animals, computers? Do they prefer individual or group activities? Do they like sports, nature, and music? Those are just a few examples of the interests that we have a list of. There's about 20 different options.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Itcambi County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. When the weather starts warming up and the countdown to summer break begins, that's the time when every parent starts to wonder exactly how many days into break before complaints of boredom begin. My next guest has some solutions for kids ages 5 to 12 that offer variety, affordability, and educational benefit. She is the marketing and outreach coordinator for Play Pensacola Parks and Recreation. And today she's going to share how the City of Pensacola's summer camps, over a dozen options, could be the solution you're looking for. Outreach and Impact, Telling Stories and Making Memories, Brittany Hughes. Thanks for being here. Thank you so much for having me. I had no idea that the city had so many summer camps. 17. Seriously.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

There are so many options. It's really incredible. What are some of the fan favorites? Our fan favorites include our dance programs at Gull Point. I was actually in one of the dance programs when I was little. Really? Yes. I went to Gull Point and I was in tap dancing at Gull Point when I was like a little kid. I was around fourth, fourth grade or so. So much fun. I still have pictures from back then. I love how nostalgic that is, that it's like full circle. It really is. It's really incredible. And then now I go to these centers and I see these kids and I was there. It's so cool.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Gold Point got a makeover a few years back. So if people haven't been there in the last seven years, it's been redone inside. Yes, it's so nice.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

It really is. Another fan favorite is our outdoor pursuits program. And that brings the kids out, and we have fishing camps, both beginning and advanced fishing camps for those kids who actually know how to fish already. We also have kayaking and stand-up paddleboard camp, which is super cool. Oh, I love that. Those kids learn the fundamentals of kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding in a pool. And then once they get the basics, they take them out into the open water. It's so cool. And then finally we have outdoor adventure camps that's happening all throughout June and July. And that combines all of the aspects of the outdoor programs with kayaking, fishing, hiking, rock climbing. They even learn archery. It's seriously super cool.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

That is amazing.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Yes. In addition to those, though, uh, our main summer camp is what I'm here to talk about today. And that's a Play Pensacola summer camps program. Okay, so how is that different than the stuff that you just mentioned? The stuff that I just mentioned, for example, the dance camp only happens at Goal Point, and the outdoor adventure camps and the outdoor pursuits camps only happen at Bayview, uh, outdoor pursuits center. But now our Play Pensacola summer camp program happens at Woodland Heights, Goal Point as well, at Fricker and at Cobb.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Okay, so the main summer camp is the same program, curriculum, if you will, but at four different locations.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Yes, but it does vary based on the kids that are going to the camp because we can't have just one curriculum for each location. Each location has different families involved in the community, which means different kids, of course, can have different personalities. So we like to base our education based on the interests of the children that are at these locations.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

So do the kids get to decide or who makes the curriculum based on the different locations? How do they figure out what the kids' interests and personalities will be in order to make the summer camp a hit?

SPEAKER_00 4:13

It all begins at the registration. So our registration packet asks all kinds of questions about the children that are gonna be attending these camps. We ask about the food tolerances, whether they have food allergies or because during our activities, of course they're gonna have lunch. That's a given. But we also have projects that require food preparation from the kids. The kids are actively involved in like cooking exercises. Yeah. We also ask about the strengths and areas of desired improvement. So if you want your child to advance in math, or you want your child to have specific art skills, you want them to grow in those that area, we can help with that. We ask what motivates your child, because every single child is different and everyone has different motivating factors. We ask about areas of interest, and these are just a few examples, but are they interested in acting? Animals, computers, do they prefer individual or group activities? Do they like sports, nature, and music? Those are just a few examples of the interests that we have a list of. There's about 20 different options. This is blowing my mind right now.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

I had always so customized. Yes, I had no idea. And because when you when I'm I'm gonna like show my my stereotyping cards a little bit, and maybe a listener would relate to this. But like when I think of City of Pensacola summer camps, immediately I in my mind, for some reason, I had a very cookie-cutter, generic, like bureaucratic version of what a summer camp might be. Definitely not a bespoke experience for kids in this particular area or that particular area.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

That's a very common misconception. And when you think about City of Pensacola Day Camp, you don't think of all of these individualized experiences that we offer through our STEAM, which is STEM plus arts, STEAM programs through our behavioral programs. And we actually feature these individuals or these little kids once a month, if not twice a month. And we actually have center celebrities where we celebrate a child who has good behavioral characteristics and positive characteristics, and that just further creates memories and builds that confidence of that child within. So it's super cool.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

So character building. Absolutely. And just being a good citizen that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

It really is. So back to the registration, we also ask about their personality and lifestyle considerations. Do they require an alternative communication style? Do they have any physical, sensory, or material adaptations that we need to know about? We like to adapt our activities to the needs of our kids. And through completing this application process, this registration process completely gives us all the tools that we need in order to accommodate for this child, whether it is he has an individual education plan or he just doesn't like the texture of some foods.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Okay, so how many kids are usually in each of those locations? Because this sounds really boutique, and that makes me think, oh, maybe, you know, maybe there's like a really small amount of children that can attend these, and that's why it can be so boutique.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

We try our best to maintain a 15 to one camper to counselor ratio.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Okay, so it's not about the capacity, it's about the ratio.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Exactly. And that's to incorporate those individualized programs and that give these kids the attention that they need and deserve. So no matter what, we try to keep that 15 to 1 approximate camper to counselor ratio.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Wow. Okay, so you get all this registration data, and then the counselors are making the curriculum, or is there some other administrative staff that is taking all the data and doing the hard job of putting it together?

SPEAKER_00 8:13

We have a grant through the Escambia Children's Trust program. And that grant has provided us, PARC specifically, with an out-of-school time coordinator. Now, her name is Andrea, and she is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Shout out to Andrea.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yes, she is incredible. All of our centers absolutely love her. She has revitalized all of our after-school programs and she's added professional development for our counselors because you're gonna have tough conversations when you're dealing with kids, right? That just happens.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

So that's like does that mean kind of like a training to help the counselors execute those programs and balance all the different personalities and needs? Absolutely, yes, exactly. That sounds like the job of a few people, but it's just Andrea.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

She is absolutely incredible. Andrea also has brought STEAM projects to our programs, but these are all after school educational initi initiatives that will be incorporated into our summer camps program. So while we have our counselors analyzing all of these registration packets, we are bringing those initiatives from our after school that Andrea has created through the ECT grant into our summer camps program. And so that's how we're able to provide such a robust activity schedule.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Okay, so it's really that collaborative effort. That is fascinating. I guess we're doing a little myth busting today because my other stereotype was summer camp is filled with, you know, seniors in high school and freshmen in college who just need a summer job because they're basically babysitting while the children run amok high on the sugar that they ate for lunch.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Yes, that's another misconception.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Okay, I'm glad it's not just me.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

No, it's definitely not just you, but one thing that's so special about our summer camps program is most of our counselors and many of our employees are actually play Pensacola Parks kids. What does that mean? It means they attended the camps. Just like you did. Exactly. For example, we have one uh counselor at Gold Point, her name is Maddie, and she uh informed me that we have several of our other counselors that they have been in the program since they were five years old. And they grew up through the program. And our Woodlands Heights location, Fayuka is the uh administrator over that location. He is incredible, such a great support system over there. And he's actually kept connections and brought the past play Pensacola Parks kids back to talk to the kids and to come back and work for the Pensacola Parks and Recreation Department as counselors, as supervisors. It it's just so such a tight-knit operation that we've got because it's such a great program that people want to stay involved.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

And they have so many nostalgic memories. Absolutely. But I find it interesting that it's not just, you know, nostalgia and sugar, that it's like actual classroom style curriculum that you're bringing. And I'm really surprised by the Steam aspect of it too, because I I mean, I would have expected the outdoorsy type things, but I think it's neat that you've got a variety of interests that would allow kids with different tendencies to be plugged into, not just the sporty kids, but maybe the kids that like video games and they like coding and they like those sorts of things that they can participate as well. Absolutely. So are these camps, are they all summer long or is it like one week out of the summer? What's the time frame? This main summer camp runs from June 2nd to August 1st. Oh wow, that's kind of the whole summer. Yes, it is. And how long during the day are the kids at the camp? Camp is from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Okay. So how does transportation work? A lot of parents have that question when it comes to signing their kid up for anything extra, but definitely something that lasts most of the summer.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

So transportation, because our camp hours are so long from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., that allows a little bit of time in the morning and after school for parents to pick up their kids. Now, while the city of Pensacola doesn't provide transportation to and from camp, there are many neighborhood and community groups that provide transportation to their kids in the area that they live in. I know a few local churches also provide transportation to and from the camps. So there are so many opportunities to get the community groups involved. We also have grandparents and friends of the families drop off and you know, pick up kids.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

So that's true because you're talking about neighborhoods and people who in theory could know each other. So there's that collaborative aspect to it. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

How is safety handled? Safety is really important. And that comes in the camper to counselor ratio, the 15 to 1. We don't want too many kids in an area at the same time. If something were to happen, we want to make sure that we can handle all those situations. All of our center supervisors are CPR certified. Moving forward, we are taking initiatives to get more CPR certified counselors in as well. We also invite Pensacola Police Department and the fire department in, and they teach fire safety and stranger danger. It gives them an opportunity to reach out to the kids and make an impact and teach the kids more about safety in and out of summer camp. Pensacola Police Department has Friday fun days where they have actual police officers come by and spend the Friday with the kids. Oh, that's cute. And they enjoy it so much. The kids and the officers, of course.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

I love that. What's the cost range for the camps? I'm sure it's, you know, different depending on what it is.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

So uh the play Pensacola summer camp is open to both city residents and non-city residents. For city residents, it's $65 a week. And then for non-city residents, it's $75 a week. But for those who aren't quite able to afford that price, we do have a summer camp scholarship program where we give qualified applicants up to half off of the weekly enrollment. And wow, that's a good deal. It really is. Yes. How great of an impact is that, really? So for more information or for the application for the scholarship, you can find it on our website. And that's also listed in the show notes. Perfect.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

And what's the sign-up time frame for these summer camps? Our summer camp enrollment opens on March 1st.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

And is that the same every year? It is the same. Always March 1st. Okay. The deadline for June enrollment is mid-May. And then the deadline for July enrollment is mid-June. So if you don't quite catch the June enrollment, you haven't missed out. You can still catch the July enrollment.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

I love that. Thank you so much for talking about this today. I don't think this is something that everyone knows about. So I'm really happy that we could cover it. And also Mythbust. So thank you for that as well. This has been great. This was completely amazing.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.