“We had an amazing summer at our LEAP programs at Ring and Love Elementary Schools,” said Gina Bloomquist, YMCA School Age & Family director. “We are so proud to be a part of the goal to minimize the summer slide, not only in literacy but also in math. We had so many amazing partners this summer to help provide our kids with additional enrichment activities and they also helped them make some amazing summer memories.”

The Jamestown YMCA was just one of three partners who used their expertise and community connections to help the kids at JPS’ summer LEAP (Learning Enrichment & Academic Progress) program. JPS was verylucky to also partner with the Winifred Crawford Dibert Boys & Girls Club of Jamestown and the YWCA, to give valuable enrichment experiences to Jamestown kids.

“We served 101 different students at Lincoln during the Summer LEAP program,” said Dianne Woleen from the Winifred Crawford Dibert Boys & Girls Club of Jamestown. “With the excellent help from Principal Katie Russo and the Lincoln School staff, we were able to recruit so many who benefited from the summer programming. Not only did students receive quality instruction from the reading teachers, they participated in the Lit Camp curriculum that opened their eyes to the fun of reading even more. Each week the Tier 2 agencies provided great enrichment including nutrition classes, cooking, field events, character education, art education, reading and gardening just to name a few. The weekly field trips explored many local sites including Roger Tory Peterson Institute, the Prendergast Library, Midway Park, the County Fair, a dairy farm and the Grape Discovery Center as well as others. The students got to experience all that our area has to offer. The collaboration between the Club and the Lincoln staff helped make for an easy transition into the school building.”

Other enrichment activities provided by JPS partners during the afternoons included: Rocky’s Family Karate, Infinity Visual & Performing Arts music and art activities, Girls Scouts of Western New York, healthy eating and nutrition and Master Gardeners with Cornell Cooperative Extension, nature projects through Audubon Nature Community Center and Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Allegheny Highlands Council Boy Scouts of America, character education with IMPACT Campus Fellowship, CASAC with their “Too Good for Drugs” Program, swimming lessons at the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club, STEM activities and “Run, Jump & Throw” with Chautauqua Striders, cooking, and visits to the Prendergast Library for Makerspace activities and book readings. Every Friday, students enjoyed field trips to local attractions such as the Audubon Community Nature Center, Midway Park, Erie Zoo, Presque Isle Park, Chautauqua County Fair, Erie Children’s Museum, Chautauqua Co Safety Village, Allegany State Park, Warren Pool, Grape Discovery Center, Northwest Ice Arena, Camp Merz, Camp Haik Tilikum and Roger Tory Peterson Institute, to name just a few.

“We believe that the JPS LEAP Program was a huge success!” said Shane Monroe, YWCA’s Director of After School Programs who ran the Bush and Fletcher Elementary School LEAP Programs. “A summer full of fun and exciting opportunities for the children of Jamestown resulted in a great, big smiles for all involved!”