Elev8 New Mexico Summer Enrichment Program
Incoming and current Elev8 New Mexico students at the Native American Community Academy (NACA) enjoyed a variety of exciting activities as part of the school's Summer Enrichment Program. Throughout the month of July, these programs helped students get to know the school and each other, and participate in enrichment activities.
The program provided a variety of learning activities. Sixth grade students participated in an aeronautics math and science program, and all students had the chance to do "math baseball." There were also many life skills programs, such as financial literacy lessons, career development and goal setting.
Elev8 supports the expansion of school breakfast and lunch programs that provide a safety net to the approximately 12 million children who live in food-insecure households. To learn more about proposed legislation to cut food stamp benefits, click here. |
Many of the programs allowed them to express their creativity. For example, students participated in expressive writing, sketching or paper mache. There was also a drum circle, led by a community provider, where students played instruments from around the world together in a music ensemble. The Summer Enrichment Program also helped students work on their personal wellness, with hikes around the city, a food and nutrition program, and activities like hip-hop aerobics, swimming and basketball. Community partners New Mexico Extreme Sports even set up skateboarding ramps, accompanied by music and a poetry presentation.
The Summer Enrichment Program emphasized the importance of nutrition and healthy eating. As part of Program's activities, students took a trip to Roadrunner Food Bank, where they learned about the Bank and its mission, and spent the morning packaging food. The City of Albuquerque Summer Food Program provided breakfast and lunch to all participating students. In addition, the Summer Enrichment Program partnered with the New Mexico Collaboration to End Hunger to provide a full bag of food every Friday to students through the Summer Food Backpack Program. The Summer Enrichment Program culminated with a Community Feast organized and implemented by students on the last day of the program.
Students’ decisions to drop out are not based simply on their experiences in high school; instead, the pathway to dropping out appears to start much earlier.
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