Day one of camp, Monday, July 20, 2020, had 69 participants!
Former migrant student Hinkish Dhakal is now Camp Connect facilitator and adjunct professor at the University of Scranton!
Joyce M. Ramos de Avila, Camp Connect Director and CEO of C.A.F.E Creating and Facilitating Equality
Academic collaboration is a valuable asset when learning new teaching tools and implementing new trends towards learning. During these unforeseen times, governance has relied on intergovernmental and interstate collaborations when providing public services. Pennsylvania’s Migrant Education Program is working with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa and Nebraska to offer virtual summer camps for middle school and high school migrant students.
Camp Connect is a 4-day virtual camp offered July 20-23, 2020 and is designed for high school migrant students. Through virtual learning, participants will gain leadership skills and strengthen academics around STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math). This virtual camp allows the student’s unimpeded access to build relationships with other campers, feel safe and secure, and establish rapport with the instructors and other staff.
Camp Connect will be a life affirming experience that changes the way students think about themselves, their education, and connection with those around them. Using the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM model) students will create and present a webpage as their final project, reflecting the outcomes of their experiments and experiences.
On day two of camp, students worked on their webpage. Keynotes and presenters connected virtually from Puerto Rico, New York, Florida and Washington, D.C. and included: Angel Nuñez, Biotechnology and Microbiology Professor from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico in Barranquitas; Desiree LaFontaine, Assistant Principal for P.S. 195, Bronx, New York; Consuelo Ramos DeYesso, Early Childhood Education Professor for Keystone College and Special Education Teacher at John F. Kennedy Middle School, Florida; and Neysha Martinez-Orengo Post-Doctoral Fellow for the National Institute Health, Washington, D.C.
Throughout the week there will be a series of workshops, seminars, motivating speakers, and hands-on activities. Students will have opportunities to imagine, envision and focus on redefining themselves as leaders, with guidance and examples.
BrainSTEM, the virtual camp for middle school students, will begin August 3. The camp is designed to provide middle school students with experiences to develop an ability to persevere through challenges and realize academic opportunities in STEM. MEP staff received a run-through from Carlos Ojeda Jr., president and CEO of CoolSpeak, in preparation for the middle school camp on Friday, July 17.
Center for Schools and Communities, a division of Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, is working in partnership with Pennsylvania Department of Education to implement this interstate initiative.
