Tiara (left). Her mom and sister attended the CIS Think Summer! bash and watched her perform with her dance club.
What have you been learning this summer?
Have you improved your math and reading skills? Have you learned to sing, cook, dance, play the cello, discovered who you are, and perhaps, more importantly, gained a glimpse of who you might become?
You’d likely answer ‘yes’ to most of the above questions if you were like one our 200 students involved in the six week CIS Think Summer! program that ended last week.
The students had an opportunity this past Thursday to celebrate and share with friends and family members just what they had been learning in their elementary, secondary or Kalamazoo Kids in Tune summer program.
Recarte Lockhart stopped down to see what all the fuss was about. “My nephew has been having a wonderful time this summer with CIS. He doesn’t like to miss a day of this program!”
Mrs. Cobb, whose daughter Rickelle will be a 7th grader in Kalamazoo Public Schools is “pleased to see how CIS has promoted college and career development. I appreciate how the staff get the students to think for themselves, to problem solve and to address important issues like bullying…CIS is reinforcing, promoting the important lessons we, as parents, are teaching at home. For some kids, I know, this is an introduction for them. For others, like my daughter, it is reinforcing those important skills and ideas they need to know to be successful.”
“I’m really grateful for this experience,” her daughter Rickelle says. “I’ve learned more about subjects like math and English—and it’s been fun! Our coaches are the best; they lay out the lessons in fun ways, through games and playing. Plus, they really know how to connect with kids and can handle anything that comes up with us. CIS chose really good people to help us. I’m glad they hired coaches like Miss MacKenzie, Miss Angelica, and Coach Asia. They really helped me this summer.”
Deshani Raines, who will be attending 7th grade at Hillside this fall expresses similar sentiments. “CIS Think Summer inspired me to do more things than I normally would over the summer and to learn more than I already know—in a fun way. Coaches taught me to do what’s expected and to learn right from wrong. They were all great.”
For Jazel O’Neal, another up and coming 7th grader, this summer experience was an opportunity to explore one of her passions: singing. “I learned how to be a better singer because of CIS. They even made arrangements so I could perform at the Black Arts Festival. The coaches were really nice and encouraging. They are not judgemental at all. Thanks to CIS, more people have gotten to hear my voice. I like that.”
For older students like Tiara Blair, who has been involved with CIS for three years and will be entering 11th grade at Loy Norrix High School this fall, summer has been an opportunity to give back to younger students.
Tiara, a friendly, poised and self-assured young woman, helped sixth graders in the area of fashion and dance. Cynthia Cooper, Tiara’s mother, points out that her daughter was in a good position to help out because of the experiences and opportunities she has received through CIS. “This is my daughter’s third year participating in CIS and I’ve seen how it’s helped her make friends and positively impact her self esteem.”
“My favorite part this summer,” says Tiara, “was working with the younger kids and helping them figure out how to solve their problems. Like, who took my pencil? It may not seem like a big thing, but kids need to figure out the small problems if they want to solve bigger one’s later.”
CIS Think Summer! secondary students dressing for success before their mock interviews.
Just how has being a part of CIS’s summer experience changed Tiara? “Helping these kids has got me thinking: I can see myself now becoming a teacher.” Along the way, Tiara has benefited from a number of great KPS teachers. A few of her favorites? Loy Norrix English teacher Ms. Kelly Stetten, Milwood Middle School’s Math teacher Mr. James Roth and Mrs. Rana Findling who taught Tiara the ins and outs of video production. Teachers, Tiara and her mother both agree, who go above and beyond their job description.
CIS is proud to be working with and within the Kalamazoo Public Schools. We greatly appreciate our coaches, school and community partners, volunteers, and parents who work with CIS—no matter what the season—to do what it takes for kids to be successful in school and life. We are especially grateful to all the wonderful kids who (even though they may have had some fun along the way) have worked incredibly hard this summer, and are not just avoiding the summer slide, but are climbing mountains, inspiring us all to greater heights.
(If you didn’t get a chance to check out the “CIS Think Summer” celebration video posted on our facebook page, you can check it out here.)
Tags: 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Black Arts Festival, CIS, Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo, Hillside Middle School, James Roth, Kalamazoo Central High School, Kalamazoo Kids In Tune, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Kelly Stetten, Loy Norrix High School, Rana Findling
