Summertime is the season for kids' baseball games, fishing excursions with dad and movies with the whole family.
Unfortunately, for too many youngsters, it's also when lessons learned during the long hours at school fly straight from their thoughts.
Students enrolled at six Detroit-area charter schools will get a second chance to keep their grade point averages high.
Youngsters studying at the Detroit Enterprise Academy, Detroit Merit Charter Academy, Flagship Charter Academy, Detroit Premier Academy, Warrendale Charter Academy and Hamtramck Academy have signed up for summer enrichment classes offered by Building Educated Leaders for Life.
BELL, a Boston-based organization, was founded in 1992 by Harvard Law School students eager to raise children's academic performances and their self-esteem.
"We want to instill within them a sense of giving back, so when they do great things after college, they will turn back and give to their community," said Earl Martin Phalen, CEO of BELL.
Youngsters enrolled in the program gain an average of four months' worth of reading, writing and math skills, he said.
"There is an extensive body of research that says children living in low-income communities lose three months of skills over the summer," said Phalen. "When you're able to turn that to not losing but gaining skills, that has a profound impact."
Youngsters learn basic math and reading during their sessions, and review how to work with others, he said.
"We really look for urban communities where children have tremendous potential and there's a need for resources," said Phalen. "We might be able to provide that boost so children can realize their dreams."
The program includes lectures and field trips, as well as classroom work, said Dawn Smith, BELL's Detroit regional director. Trips to science and historical museums, gardens and a college tour are on the activities roster.
Community service projects are also planned.
"We will be working with Gleaners food bank to help package food," said Smith, a Detroit resident. "We'll be working with a nursing home, and we'll be planting flowers at gardens at the schools."
Dance, theater, robotics and culture are among the enrichment programs students will tackle, said Tara Colvin, manager of intervention services for the National Heritage Academies, the charter schools' network.
"The kids are having so much fun they don't realize they are learning," said Colvin.
Stopping the "summer slide," she said, and increasing learning are the goals of the academies.
"A lot of students don't have a safe, productive place to go during the summer," said Colvin. "This provides that."
There will be two teachers for every 20 students enrolled.
The charter academies are urban-focused, with an emphasis on helping lower-income families. Morality is stressed, including virtues like honesty and integrity.
"If you are a low-income family, you may not have a choice to go to a private school," she said. "This is an alternative to public schools."
For more information about National Heritage Academies, visit http://heritageacademies.com/. To find out where BELL programs will be offered next summer, look to http://www.bellnational.org.
