Summer Learning

We all know, summer is bittersweet for a teacher. Sweet because, the world knows, we need a break. Bitter because students come back, from summer, like they forgot how to learn and attend school. To make the bitter a little sweeter, DAA held their first summer program; keeping students engaged in learning year round.

The vision for the summer program was to keep students active in learning, maintain their autonomy in the classroom and maintain their already positive attitude toward the school environment. With this vision in mind, we would develop stronger leaders, for the school year, to be models for the rest of the students.

Our summer program had an average of 20 students. Students would engage in phonics, reading, and math centers to develop their foundational knowledge while challenge them with material for the up coming school year. Additionally, students would learn more about the Detroit community via trips and have tennis practice twice a week. To say the least, the students were involved in action packed days that entertained the mind and body.

Students were able to get to know the Detroit and the Metro Detroit community by taking trips to the Michigan Science Center, Belle Isle, Earthworks Urban Farm, and Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. The kids learned about orchards, how to make bubbles and slime, and how beautiful Detroit truly is. These trips, hopefully, established a deeper connection between the city and our students.

Overall, this summer was amazing. Our staff was able to build stronger relationships to students and continued to empower our future leaders