School is out for the Crookston School District, but the Washington Elementary School is far from empty this summer with its Summer Programs. One of these is the Summer Care Program which gives the students at Washington a set of fun summer days with their friends.
The program runs every day during the week, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., for students at Washington Elementary School and Our Savior’s Lutheran School to enjoy playing with their fellow students at the school and in the parks around Crookston with their friends and classmates, with the program’s staff giving them various activities. “We try to stay outside most of the time when the weather is nice. If it gets too hot, we have small swimming pools, and we let the kids get wet,” Washington Summer Care Coordinator Rosa Ibarra explained. “Or we stay inside where we watch a movie and play in the cafeteria or gym.” Ibarra mentioned that they also try to take the students, usually on Fridays, to different areas around Crookston, such as Castle Park and the Splash Pad at Highland Park. Ibarra explained that the program is an excellent way for the children to learn to socialize and play with others. The program also provides them with breakfast, lunch, and a snack that is provided by the Crookston High School.
The program is run by multiple staff members of Washington Elementary that cycle throughout the day to have five teachers at the program for each half of the day. “We have about five in the morning and five in the afternoon. Some have T-ball, baseball, or swimming, and some come early in the morning, but then one will go at 9:00 a.m., another at 10:00 a.m., another at 11:00 a.m., and then they come back. Then in the afternoon, they go to Club Kid,” Ibarra explained. Ibarra explained that the program is also active during the school year as an after-school program, and most of the students that attend the program have attended it during the school year. Before the school year ended, Washington Elementary School Principal Denice Oliver sent out applications for parents to fill out for their children to come to the program. Ibarra explained that the students are allowed to come and leave the program at their leisure as some of the students stay until the program ends at 5:00 p.m. while others leave or arrive midway through the day, either with a ride from their parents or by using public transportation like T.H.E. Bus.
Ibarra also said that some students choose to come on different days and hours depending on when they want to the school. If a student decides to stop coming to the program, the student’s parents will call them to inform them, and the program will contact a family on the program’s waiting list to let them know that the student can join the program’s activities. Ibarra says the program takes about 35 students at maximum, and other students that sent their application in a bit late are put on the waiting list for a spot in the program.
Another Washington summer program the school had during the summer was the Crookston Community Education “Mini” Camps, a series of camps that taught students new skills that ended in June. These skills included how to crochet, plant a garden, and even build devices like engineers. Some students in the camp also painted rocks with inspirational messages to be scattered around Crookston to leave positive messages for people to find.
The Washington Elementary School’s Summer Care program runs until Friday, August 19, but will begin again on the first day of school as an after-school program for children. Pictures of activities done at both summer programs can be seen below-
