Summer SPLASH Enrichment Academy Increasingly Popular Among Students

8/10/2012

Westerville City Schools relies heavily on data analysis to measure programming success. But there is also something to be said about seeing students so excited to learn that they are skipping down the hall after class and practically talking their parents’ ears off as they share what they have discovered in school. Such is the case with the Summer Splash Enrichment Academy (Students Playing, Learning And Stretching Horizons), which just concluded its fourth season in the district.

SPLASH is a program designed for students in grades 1-7. Teachers interested in being involved submit a proposal regarding the weeklong course they would like to teach, along with preferred grade levels. We have been able to offer courses in all disciplines math, social studies, science, performing and visual arts, technology, and language arts, said Suzanne Palmer, Westerville City Schools Coordinator of Gifted & Talented, and ESL Services. The Gifted Education Department runs the program and sessions are taught, in large part, by Westerville teachers. Others participate as well. The last two years, for instance, Sara Rath, School Resource Officer at Genoa Middle School, conducted a Mock Trial session. And Westerville City Schools Curriculum Coordinator Chris Doolittle taught Intro to Robots for the first time this year.

SPLASH is growing in popularity as word spreads about its ability to offer academic and creative challenges to highly motivated students. Palmer says the program provides the option for pupils to be exposed to topics and experiences that may not be available within the regular curriculum during the traditional school year. For example, one very popular session is Get Dirty with Clay, which is open to all grade levels. SPLASH students get to learn about ceramics and operate a pottery wheel an opportunity not afforded at the elementary or middle school level during the regular year. Technology sessions are also very well-received as they give students more in-depth training in various programs. Children can either select a topic of interest to them or select something that is unfamiliar to them in a safe environment where there is no test or high stakes attached.

When SPLASH started four years ago, it was offered for just one week, and only to students in grades 1-5. But as word spread and interest grew among students, parents and teachers, more classes were added and it was expanded to two weeks and opened to include middle school students.

In June as the most recent SPLASH session concluded, students and parents were polled about the quality of the programming, the registration process, and the value. High scores in all areas were overwhelming, with the only common complaint being that the sessions are not long enough.

Palmer says SPLASH will continue provided there is interest on the part of teachers and participants. That’s likely, as long as intriguing subjects are offered like Puzzling Puzzles; Uno, Dos, Tres; Geek for a Week; Young Foodies; and Power of Performance.