Eight Fun Facts about Camp READY!
1. Camp READY! is a school readiness program for rising and repeating kindergarten students, and provides hands-on, multi-sensory learning experiences in a fun, engaging format.
2. On average, Camp READY! students who attend the full program demonstrate learning gains of SEVEN months in vocabulary development from pre- to post-assessment.
3. Camp READY! has grown from one site in 2006 to nine sites in 2015 serving students at locations in North and South Lakeland, Ft. Meade, Haines City, Bartow Winter Haven, Lake Wales, Frostproof, and Poinciana.
4. Camp READY!’s teachers are experienced educators, with most holding early learning credentials.
5. Camp READY! is funded by partnerships between United Way of Central Florida, GiveWell Community Foundation, Disney Grants, and Learning Resource Center. LRC is always open to forging new partnerships in order to make Camp READY! available to even more students.
6. It costs approximately $22,000 to provide a successful camp. This figure includes all supplies, instructional materials, snacks, assessments, salaries, utilities/equipment, and marketing. Nearly ONE THIRD of this cost is donated to the program in the form of community partnerships through in-kind goods and/or services.
7. Each Camp READY! site can accommodate up to 50 students. LRC is ready to serve as many as 500 of Polk County’s rising kindergartners this summer.
8. In recent years, LRC has added several exciting components to Camp READY!
- In 2014, collaboration with Polk Museum of Art provided robust, enhanced fine arts lessons, exposing children to arts concepts through thematic lessons that teach process thinking.
- Camp READY!’s Cooking Center also received a makeover in 2014. Cooking lessons are now lower in sugar and provide healthy snacks, opening the door to conversations about health and nutrition.
- Through partnership with the Agriculture and Labor Program (ALPI), breakfast and lunch are provided to students at the Frostproof site.
- Partnerships with childcare centers and Boys and Girls Clubs provided transportation to and from Camp READY!
- The Junior League of Greater Lakeland partnership provided school supplies to all Camp READY! campers in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Register your kindergartner for one of this summer’s Camp READY! sites today and find more information on the program at lrcpolk.com/programs/camp-ready/.