Grants / Funding - HUD URAP
July 30th, 2008
HUD Grant - URAP-05-TN-003 Final Progress Report
This excerpt (TSU highlights-Click here) from a publication by the Office of University Partnerships in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was recently released. Pages 66 & 67 highlight the TSU New Orleans summer camp funded by a URAP grant.
UNIVERSITIES REBUILDING AMERICA PARTNERSHIPS (URAP)
CAMP SUPERCHARGE
In 2005, the Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement was awarded $350,000 from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to offer Camp Supercharge to children in New Orleans.
All of these children were vastly impacted by hurricane Katrina losing homes, family members, and missing portions of the school year.
The purpose of the camp was two fold:
(1) give the kids an academic boost to the following school year and
(2) provide a safe place for kids to spend their summer amidst the chaos that they had experienced in their lives through the Hurricane and its aftermath.
About the Camp
The camp took place on the campus of Loyola University in New Orleans from July 11 through August 4, 2006 and served an average of 193 students per day for a cumulative total of 3,858 student days. All camp attendees qualified for free and reduced lunch and each day of camp received breakfast and lunch, prepared by the public school system. Campers received reading, math, art, physical education, and science academic instruction. Campers took field trips to the New Orleans Zoo, New Orleans Aquarium, IMAX Theater, and Audubon Park.
On Fridays students attended “power hour” to improve their self-esteem and address the impact of trauma in their lives. Camp attendees who completed a release received a mental health evaluation and participated in small group sessions to deal with trauma and other post Katrina issues.
The camp ended with a celebration and Tennessee State University President, Melvin Johnson, congratulating the camp attendees for their completion and recognizing the collaborative efforts between TSU and the New Orleans community that made this camp a success.
Camp Results
· Campers made exceptional academic gains
The children achieved academic gains beyond the established goals, increasing their composite scores from pre to post tests 60%. In addition to gains in test scores, students acquired on average three new language arts skills and two new math skills.
· Parents declared the camp and overwhelming success
A sample of the parents was asked to complete a survey evaluating the camp. The survey results showed the camp was an overwhelming success; parents believed their students have made improvements in their academic performance and have elevated self-esteem resulting from the camp.
· Twenty Five Tennessee State University Students served as camp counselors and found it a meaningful experience
Twenty of the TSU student counselors participated in a class in the Fall of 2006 to reflect upon the experience of serving as a counselor at Camp Supercharge. Each wrote a paper describing their experience. To a person, each indicated that participating in this camp had been an important experience for them and asked for it to be continued. Below are just a few of the comments students made of their experiences.
“My children worked hard throughout the program and the end result was them learning things about life, academics, and picking up positive habits from positive role models. I will never forget the month we spent in New Orleans. I would recommend this kind of program in the future.” (Deshona Williams, TSU student counselor)
“Who would ever imagine New Orleans would change my life forever. The most memorable moment I had was seeing my students learn and understand the lesson planned, because a lot of them were really struggling with reading and comprehending.” (Martez Burks, TSU student counselor)
TSU students also were actively involved in clean-up efforts.
Links
Media Articles on Camp Supercharge
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr06-025.cfm
