When she ran her first learning and life skills summer camp 26 years ago, SuperCamp co-founder Bobbi DePorter had no idea it would ever catch on, much less reach the milestone of 50,000 graduates, which it is poised to do this year.
“Back in 1982 most parents wanted a camp that would keep their children busy for a week during summer,” says Ms. DePorter. “But our goal from day one was to help make great kids greater. Over the years, as the competition to get into the best colleges increased, more parents have turned to SuperCamp and other academic summer camps to give their children every opportunity for success.”
Today, academic camps come in all shapes and sizes – day camps and residential camps, three-day to three-week programs, local and travel-abroad camps. MySummerCamps.com lists over 4,000 camps in its Academic and Pre-College Camps category.
There are general academic camps as well as specialized ones that run the gamut from computer camps to math, science, creative writing and history camps. Other programs focus on possible areas of interest for students, such as cooking, journalism, aviation, space and animals. Still others deal with personal skills including leadership, communication and public speaking.
Many parents have discovered that another component to a child’s success in school is their motivation and self-confidence. So camps, such as SuperCamp, which combine learning skills training and life skills enhancement have grown significantly in popularity in the last decade. An independent doctoral thesis with over 6,000 SuperCamp graduates has, in fact, shown that the great majority of the students report an increase in confidence, motivation and grades following SuperCamp.
When looking at summer enrichment programs, one thing to guard against is putting your child in a program that’s more like summer school than a summer camp. If your child isn’t inspired by school, chances are he or she will be equally bored with this type of experience at camp. At SuperCamp, we train our camp staff in a dynamic teaching style called Quantum Learning, which combines music, interaction, and non-stop activity to capture the students’ interest and promote long-term learning.
Also, when you find a camp that sounds right for your child, be sure to contact the camp and ask for references. Ask parents if their kids liked the camp, how it differed from school and, of course, what results they’ve seen come from it. Many camps provide videos on their websites, which is another good way of getting a feel for the activity level, the staff and the campers’ enjoyment and involvement.
Many parents feel guilty putting their child in an “academic camp” for a week or more in the summer. They think it will ruin their child’s vacation. The truth is if you select the right academic summer camp, one with an active agenda, interactive learning exercises and dynamic staff, your child will have a great time and it could turn out to be the best investment in your child that you ever make.
Chicka Elloy is the Programs Director of SuperCamp, which holds residential academic summer camps for teens and pre-teens at eight colleges in the U.S., including Stanford, Cornell, and Wake Forest University. More information on SuperCamp is available at www.SuperCamp.com.
