DENVER — T-shirt paint was drying and soccer balls were flying outside La Alma Recreation Center in Denver Wednesday.
Summer camp is always a time for friends and sports and art projects, but this camp was offering something more: a way for Colorado's students who recently arrived in the U.S. to connect.
“They get to connect, interact with people they’ll be with studying with at school,” explained Lila Barroso, camp coordinator with ViVe Wellness, which is hosting nine summer camps this season.
Several camps were designed for children who recently arrived in the U.S. with their families, mostly from Venezuela but also from other countries, too.
“Lot of newcomers, they've been through a lot of things,” Barroso said. “Our goal is to get them ready, that they feel good, prepared, comfortable. Get a sense of knowing they’re going to get into a school that’s, maybe in English, maybe in Spanish. Maybe half and half.”
Vive Wellness doubled its number of camps this year to accommodate for thousands of migrant families that arrived in Denver. They guess about 500 kids are attending, in total. Newcomers have access to full day camp, from 9am-5pm, and ViVe said it arranged for bus transportation to bring children to the various sites.
While they focus on fun - like swim safety, music and dance, and field trips - they also focus on some school-related activities – like math and science and art. And its another opportunity to practice the kids' English skills.
“Right now, it's all about getting ready for the school. That's how we get a little bit to help them, how to get in the society,” Barroso said.
ViVe said its a partnership with Denver Public Schools and the City of Denver. Most of these children enrolled in Denver Public Schools, a district that saw more than 4,700 newcomer students throughout last year. The influx prompted changes to the budgets, teacher placement, and other resources.
Smaller districts are making changes, too.
“We didn't want them to go without any learning throughout the summer,” said Susan Zubia Lopez with Westminster Public Schools.
In June, WPS hosted a four-week summer school program to practice English language skills. About 130 students signed up for it.
“That was the goal of WPS, fill in a little bit of the gap so they don’t lose too much during summer and get them to feel comfortable coming to school, knowing kids, knowing teachers, getting parents to be more involved,” she said.
Students from kindergarten through 11th grade participated this summer. WPS said they’ve had summer school programs before, but this was the first time they targeted newcomer students, with the goal of teaching and maintaining English learning skills.
WPS representatives said the district spent about $10,000 on the summer program, part of more than $870,000 funded through the state to address costs associated with new-to-country students.
“We don't know if they’re coming back [for fall semester], or staying in our district, but we wanted to provide a service for our students,” Zubia Lopez said. “They might leave in July, beginning of August. Even if they go around to a different district – at least they take a little bit with them from our district.”
In ViVe’s summer camps, teenagers are engaged with the younger kids, too.
Several dozen teens are working with a Youth Pathway Workforce and Leadership program, serving in roles like teaching and lifeguarding and earning some money for their efforts. Several of those kids are also newcomers, offering the younger children an example – and a friend.
“If they’ve been here a year, then they help you,” Barroso explained. “They’ve been through many experiences, you’re more comfortable. If she can do it – I can do it. I can get better, learn new things. I’m going to go for it.”