After a long year of school and homework, most kids look forward to a summer of relaxation and rest. At Learn Tampa Bay in Plant City, founder Angelica Ibarra isn’t just hosting summer school for kids — she’s holding it for their mothers, too.
The six-week program called “It’s Mom’s Turn to Go to Summer School” brings 20 kids and their mothers together to learn reading and writing skills, as well as research and computer skills.
Learn Tampa Bay was founded in 2014, and received a grant from Wal-Mart this year for the summer program.
“We started out small this year because we weren’t expecting to be able to fund it,” Ibarra said.
The grant came just in time. The parents had asked Ibarra for a summer program. After learning they received the grant, they got to work creating an “Under the Sea” theme for the program. A few days before summer classes started, the mothers in attendance took the liberty of decorating the Learn Tampa Bay center with ocean decorations, including streamers, cut-outs of sea creatures and shells. They also created a treasure chest that rewards students based on their reading and writing abilities.
“They love it,” Ibarra said of the program attendees. “After the classes the children are going home and telling the parents what they learned, and the parents can talk about stuff with their kids.”
During the first week, children learned about different sea creatures, including sharks and seahorses. Students use the computers at Learn Tampa Bay to conduct research and put together written information on the animals.
Each week, they also read a book together that focuses on an animal they have been learning about. At the end of the day, students are assigned short homework assignments to encourage discussion about school.
Many of the students in the summer program are learning English as a second language, and some struggle with their reading and writing skills. The goal of the program is to teach the students to have a love of reading, while developing their written and oral skills for the future.
Ibarra hopes that their lessons will prevent what is known as a “summer slide” in reading, where students often forget what they learned the previous year.
“That’s one of the biggest concepts that we try to do in the program,” Ibarra said. “Reading is important in any language. Once kids develop a love of reading, they will start reading in English.”
The program benefits the students’ mothers as well. Many of them are also learning English as a second language, and are being taught computer skills that will help them in the workforce.
While the children learn about sea turtles and jellyfish, their mothers are being taught how to use Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Word.
“In order to help the children in school, they have to have the resources to help them,” Ibarra said. “The parents are being taught how to read with the kids.”
Although it’s only been a week, Ibarra is keeping up with students’ progress and monitoring their reading and writing. Luckily, she doesn’t have to do it alone.
“We have three teachers that work with the moms, because the parents are at different levels,” she said. “We have three teachers that work with the preschool kids, and three volunteers from high school.”
The high school volunteers help with the elementary school-aged children. Maria Brea, a professor from the University of South Florida, also comes to Learn Tampa Bay twice a week to work on writing with the children.
Ibarra believes that the program will have a lasting impact on the students and their parents, and that it can continue in the future. She is grateful to both Wal-Mart and the Children’s Board for their support, as well as to the parents for their dedication and the volunteers for their time and energy.
“Getting community support is truly what makes it happen for us,” she said. “Everything we do here is wonderful. We see the impact.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.