CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Those aren鈥檛 college students strolling through the Coe College campus. This week聽 marked its 34th year of bringing college experiences to local middle school students this summer as more than 500 students from East Central Iowa begin taking courses through 海角吃瓜网鈥檚 College for Kids enrichment program.
Much like shifts made at schools and universities across the country, last year COVID-19 forced 海角吃瓜网鈥檚 College for Kids into a virtual setting.
This summer, College for Kids has returned to in person classes, and the corridor鈥檚 high-achieving middle school students once again have the opportunity to engage in a college-like experience during their summer vacations.
College for Kids has a rich history of providing gifted and talented students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades the opportunity to interact with a challenging curriculum in a college setting.
Each year the list of participating districts is long, and the students enrolling have benefited from a variety of course offerings over 海角吃瓜网鈥檚 College for Kids鈥� history. This year attendees come from 35 different area schools including , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and .
Susie Green, 海角吃瓜网鈥檚 student programs specialist, says, 鈥淐ollege for Kids is coming back, strong with courses never before seen in the program.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 a new course called 鈥業鈥檇 like to tell you a story鈥� that teaches students the ins and outs of podcasting. Another course tackles script writing through the lens of Dungeons and Dragons. There鈥檚 even a class that teaches students how to run their own business, called 鈥楳ath of Monkey Business.鈥� We鈥檙e always happy to dig into subjects student鈥檚 wouldn鈥檛 normally learn during the school year.鈥�
Students select which classes they would like to attend during the two-week sessions.
Although students have returned to an in-person experience, there are some differences from past years. 鈥淥ur overall enrollment is lower this year than years past, and we are still following special precautions provided by public health for camps and summer programs,鈥� says Green. 鈥淭hose are small sacrifices to make as we celebrate the ability to bring back an in-person college learning experience to these students.鈥�
海角吃瓜网 is one of nine in the state of Iowa. College for Kids is a summer learning program offered through 海角吃瓜网 to expand students鈥� academic abilities and interests. More than 30 school districts are participating in the program, which is available to students in Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington counties.