Goodman’s summer curriculum interrupts the traditional ‘slide’ that challenges students

By August Halbach, GCC digital marketing specialist

Summer youth programs serve a unique and potentially formative purpose: Keep kids occupied and engaged enough from June to August that, come fall, they are prepared to once again spend five days a week learning in a classroom. Seems easy enough, right? Not so fast.

At Goodman Community Center, summer programming fosters youth from preschool to high school by emphasizing courage, connection and curiosity. The day-long summer camp-style activities, paired with learning, get kids outside, exploring their community and exploring their interests five days a week for eight weeks. That seems intense — and it is, but to various degrees based on age.

Summer is the great interrupter

When schools lock their doors after the final test of the year, students lose vital parts of their engagement and academic growth — like routines and supportive adult relationships. This is known as the summer slide.

Iris Patterson was a fourth and fifth grade teacher for decades before becoming GCC’s literacy specialist and founder of *START Literacy Initiative. If anyone knows summer vacation, it’s her.

“The summer takes up a lot of time,” Patterson explained. “Some classrooms can push through May all right, but others really struggle in the final weeks. Then when school starts in September, teachers have to be careful to ease into (the) curriculum or risk losing kids right away.”

And, if a student falls behind in November and isn’t caught up by April, they could find themselves nearly a year behind, eroding confidence and clouding their future outlook. Can students use summer to catch up? Patterson and other education researchers agree they can, but only if the students find it fun. That’s where GCC’s summer programming comes in.

Opportunities for learning and fun

At Goodman, fighting the summer slide doesn’t mean sacrificing fun. With help from partners like Foodwise, the Aldo Leopold Nature Center and Troy Gardens, GCC summer staff design each day to be hands-on, engaging and full of discovery.

But what truly sets GCC apart is how literacy stays front and center. Patterson and her *START tutors bring reading skills directly into preschool and elementary classrooms, followed by Patterson’s signature cart of activities and prizes. Children’s time with tutors is age specific.

“We could be with the fourth and fifth graders for an hour every day but only 15 minutes with the 3-year-olds because that’s all they can handle,” Patterson said.

Goodman’s approach matches what education experts recommend for keeping youth away from the summer slide. In education professors David M. Quinn and Morgan Polikoff’s article, “Summer Learning Loss: What is It, and What Can We Do About It?,” the pair recommend using evidence-based curriculums, hands-on activities, real incentives and time-sensitive structures — all things being done at GCC.

The summer slide is different for older students

How do middle and high schoolers experience the summer slide? For some, summer poses a risk of boredom, getting off track toward future plans and loss of invaluable adult support. GCC tries to create summers of opportunity for its teens.

Summer programs are Bussin’

Howard Hayes has been a youth facilitator and role model at Goodman for almost 30 years. For him, youths’ budding desire for belonging and purpose make middle school his favorite age group — and prime candidates for GCC’s summer middle school program.

Instead of teacher-designated daily schedules, LOFT middle school summers embrace teens’ need for choice with a morning and afternoon course system that asks students to sign up or miss out.

“They learn pretty quickly to sign up early,” Hayes said. “Every year we have someone who misses out on a slot and comes to staff. But we have to be firm about it. It’s how they learn. And it works.”

The most popular activities besides cooking club are Bussin’ Around and Garden Fit — both off GCC’s campus. Each activity develops sustainable life skills, like urban agriculture and diverse adult interactions, and are incredibly rewarding for participants on multiple levels.

In Garden Fit, students visit Troy Gardens or Madison Youth Farms for hours of garden care, bee-keeping and fresh meals made on-site.

Tasks can feel mundane or hard, like moving a giant pile of dirt from one side of the garden to another, but the teens always come back for more. Even when their initial reactions are more frustrated than joyous.

Bussin’ Around takes a group all over Downtown Madison, from the Capitol to the geology museum, by bus.

“A lot of (youth) are warned not to leave their community (by people in their lives),” Hayes, who designed the activity, said.

He also knows parents send their kids to GCC so they’ll have experiences outside of their comfort zone.

Bussin’ Around is also popular for the conversations had while driving to and from destinations. Mental health and homelessness are two topics that continually come up as the youth see more of Madison.

Middle schoolers’ curiosity is abundant, and learning to ask hard questions in the middle of fun and rewarding activities helps make their summers count.

Credits and resumes can be fun … no, seriously!

GCC’s high school summer program is one of a kind. Each summer, around 60 students enroll in the six-week program. That’s more than any other summer program offering credit and certifications by the Madison school district, according to Catie Tollefson, vice president of programs at GCC.

The program is so popular, it is split into two cohorts. Cohort 1 is for youth new to the summer program and have not earned their ServSafe certification to work in GCC’s catering kitchens, while Cohort 2 is for program returners who will get CPR certified and some new experiences over four weeks.

Both cohorts share key features. Financial literacy lessons from Summit Credit Union, where they open a checking account and learn to fill out tax forms; weekly Google Classroom reflections tied to receiving a Mt. Olympus field trip; high school credit; sex education; and working in GCC’s catering kitchen. And, circling back to *START Literacy and the elementary programs, the high schoolers have a chance to help Patterson in the classroom and get introduced to literacy tutoring, as well as lead gym-style activities with elementary and preschool youth.

Plus, everyone gets paid — not just when they’re in the kitchen.

“They know they can get more money at other places,” Tollefson said.

But what retailers or fast-food chains don’t usually provide that keeps teens coming back to GCC is encouragement and the positive adult relationships LOFT prioritizes. The program even budgets an hour at the end of each day for them to talk, play games and build deeper connections with staff and one other.

“Whatever their goals are, we want them to succeed in the best future they see for themselves,” Tollefson said of LOFT’s high school philosophy.

Preparing to be a ninth grader

LOFT high school summer programming wraps up with 9onTime, a two-week launchpad for incoming freshmen to explore high school life and start mapping their next four years. Staff take them on tours of the University of Wisconsin and Madison Area Technical College, host an upper classmen Q+A panel where all questions are on the table and students receive half a credit before school even starts.

The group of almost 30 youth will also put on a special lunch for GCC staff to demonstrate new skills learned during the summer and as practice for future catering events.

For Tollefson, 9onTime is more than academic and future preparation.

“(Goodman) wants (the freshman) to look down the halls and see people who have gone through the same things they have” and have trusted adults they can lean on from the very beginning of their four-year journey, Tollefson said.

Goodman offers many great summer options for 3- to 18-year-olds, but what sets it apart is the commitment to age-appropriate, holistic programs where summer still feels like summer.