United Methodists work to fight 'summer slide' with free camp for Oklahoma students

Children participating in a statewide summer program have enjoyed typical camp activities like art and crafts, music and games involving physical exercise.

But Project Transformation day camps are mostly focused on combatting the reading "summer slide" that often occurs for students over summer break, said ViaFaith McCullough, program director.

The Oklahoma United Methodist Conference has offered the summer day camp for 22 years at churches in different parts of of the state. The camp, based on a United Methodist Church national model, is run by the book — meaning reading is a big component of each day.

"The 'summer slide' is the whole phenomenon where children who don't have access to reading programs or books are likely to fall one to two grade levels behind during the summer and that's been heightened since COVID, where children are already coming in behind," McCullough said. "So, now we're just trying to do the work to help repair the gaps."

The Rev. Marla Lobo, Project Transformation board chairman and site coordinator for the program's Oklahoma City site, said Project Transformation is one of the only free summer literacy programs in the state. Two Oklahoma United Methodists, the Rev. Jeremy Basset and Pat McGaritty, launched the program in Oklahoma.

"It's important to Oklahoma children," Lobo said.

Lobo serves as associate pastor of discipleship and mission at New Hope United Methodist Church, 11600 N Council, where 27 children have been attending the Oklahoma City Project Transformation camp.

McCullough said this summer, the eight-week camp is being offered to students in first through fifth grades in Tulsa, Muskogee, Bartlesville, Enid and El Reno. She said several sixth-graders were allowed to join the camp at the Oklahoma City site based on their need for help with reading.

McCullough said churches partner with the program as host sites. The churches partner with schools in their area to alert families who may include children who need reading assistance. She said parents voluntarily sign up their children for the program. The summer program partners with local food banks and school summer meal programs to offer the campers free breakfast, lunch and two snacks.

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Campers are divided into groups and rotate through three sessions which include Movement Minutes, involving physical exercise; and Young Artists, which encompasses some arts education such as music or arts and crafts. Reading takes center stage at Bookworms, a third session in which campers are paired with a volunteer reading mentor for 30 minutes of reading and writing in a reading journal. The groups come together after lunch for a Reading Rock Stars session, in which each site's reading coordinator reads books and interacts with campers based on the book's topic.

The students' reading levels are assessed at the beginning and end of the camp.

Lobo said she was thrilled with the Oklahoma City site's end-of-the-summer assessments.

"I'm happy to say that 100% of the kids retained their reading level and more than 50% improved their reading level. So, they'll go back into the school year even stronger," she said. "So, at least for this group of children, we have not experienced the 'summer slide.'"

One camper named Semaja, 10, said she felt the camp was right for her.

"I struggled with reading when I started, but I like that we got to come here and they helped us," she said.

Shirley Rolston and the young camper were familiar with each other because Rolston serves as coordinator for the faith-based Whiz Kids mentoring program offered at New Hope. Rolston, a retired attorney and member of Church of the Servant, said about 13 of the Project Transformation campers were Whiz Kids participants and this was good because that meant "they were reading all year long."

Adults gain experience, come full circle

McCullough said overall mission of Project Transformation is to help local churches effectively connect with not just children but college-age young adults. The Young Adult Service Program is a second component of the camp program. Project Transformation recruits college students from across the state to serve as young adult leaders at the summer camp. She said this year's college students, who come from schools, including Oklahoma Baptist University, Langston University and Bacone College, received training in classroom management, conflict resolution and other leadership skills designed to help them in their future careers. Typically at least six young adults are assigned to camp sites, each focusing on a different aspect of the program.

Jahree Sadler, a Langston junior, and Sergio Vazquez, a junior majoring in music at OBU, said they considered the camp a learning experience.

"Honestly, I've always been leaning toward teaching high school and middle school, so it's been a great to get elementary-age experience because I've never had any experience with little kids like this," Vazquez said. "I'm now way more open to teaching elementary school."

Sadler shared similar comments.

"I'm so glad to be part of this program because my major is early childhood education," she said. "I want to be a teacher and I wanted to get experience working with kids."

McCullough came full circle in her role as program director for the literacy camp.

She was a youth camper from 2006-2009 when the program was held at Quayle United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, where her father, the Rev. Victor McCullough was senior pastor. She said she also served as a young adult leader when she was in college. As the current program director, she's happy to be part of the camp, working to ensure the students' reading success each summer.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma United Methodist camp Project Transformation focus is literacy