Summer camp at The Center in Northeast Wichita doesn’t start until 9 a.m., but by 8:45, the parking lot is full with parents and grandparents dropping off their children for a four-day camp
For families who often struggle to find affordable activities for their children in the summer, the camp is a God send.
Trish Saunders, a grandmother who brings her two grandchildren to the program, says she’s glad the program is here.
“Last year, they spent the summer sitting around the housing playing on their computer and tablets,” says Saunders. “This year, they’re learning, going on field trips and completing their at-home reading assignments.”
These are the children Wichita Collective Impact is designed to reach.
Research indicates that students can lose up to two months of reading and math skills if they are not actively learning over the summer.
This loss is more pronounced among students whose families may have less access to educational resources during the break.
Wichita Collective Impact, a three-year initiative funded through a $2 million gift from Wichita-based Cargill Protein North America, is that resource for students in the 67214 ZIP code.
Their summer programs focus on helping kindergarten to third graders stay on track.
This year, Wichita Collective Impact granted up to $25,000 to five locations to operate four-week summer programs for first- to third-grade students. USD 259 runs its summer school program during June, and these programs operate in July to keep the learning going.
Last year, summer programs were offered by the YMCA at The Center, 1914 E. 11th St., Holy Savior Academy and St. Mark United Methodist Church. New this year are programs at Tabernacle Bible Church and a program at Calvary Baptist Church operated jointly by Women’s Aspire and Read Bro.
Programming for the programs can be fun, creative and include field trips, but they must have an educational component that aligns with the Wichita Public Schools’ strategic plan. At minimum, students must be tested before the program begins and at the end.
Tiffanie Irving, who heads up the program at Tabernacle, says her team is testing their “scholars” every week to see if they learned the skills for the week. If they didn’t, the scholars are given extra one-on-one instruction on the concept the following week.
Irving says when she learned about the opportunity to be able to help students in the community, applying was a “no brainer.”
“We have already decided it’s our first year and it’s not our only year,” said Irving. “We’ve already seen in the short amount of time the impact we can make.”
Parents drop off students at The Center location of the Collective Impact Program 
Students at The Center start their day with energizing movement. 
Classroom teachers at all of the programs were certified instructors. 
Students art work at the Seeds of Life summer program at Saint Mark United Methodist Church 
Students at the Seeds of Life summer program 
The staff at the Seeds of Life Program like the staff at other locations were supplemented by youth employment program participants and seniors from the Foster Grandparents program.
St. Mark has incorporated the program into its 20-year-old “Seeds of Life” summer program. While this program is not free, it runs five days instead of four, with longer hours, additional snacks and additional programming.
Gina Johnson, the program director, says they’re using the grant funding to cover the cost of the instructional component and for additional programming.
Most of the programs are using youth from the summer jobs program and seniors from the Foster Grandparents program to supplement their staffing.
Participants in the program must reside in the 67214 ZIP code. This ZIP code is the second-most impoverished in Kansas, with an average adjusted gross income of $27,906 in 2018. Almost 20% of households have an income below $10,000 and 39.2% are not currently in the labor force.
