LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Thanks to American Rescue Plan Act funding to schools here in the Midlands, hundreds of students will be catching up on learning this summer.
Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission (ICRC) summer camps are getting $60,000 to spend toward STEM-type learning, thanks to a South Carolina Department of Education grant.
"The purpose of the grant was to help with, stop the summer slide, so the purpose of the grant is for educational tutoring," program superintendent John Cantey said. "We're tricking the kids into learning."
Officials say this will also help address the COVID slide, the delay in learning from the pandemic.
"This is a way we can keep them engaged in learning school activities throughout the summer so they're not losing everything they learned through the school year," Cantey said.
The money will go to pay for five teachers from Lexington-Richland District Five, supplies for their 30-minute STEM sessions and books for students to take home.
They've already secured these teachers and the program will run starting the second week of summer through the end of July.
Outside of this learning, students will be enjoying standard summer programming from the commission like field trips, games, nature walks and wildlife demonstrations.
"It's a reimbursable grant, so as we spend it and submit for reimbursement, then we'll get paid back from it," Cantey said.
These summer camps are at Seven Oaks Park, Leaphart Elementary and Crooked Creek Park.
Some of the other entities receiving grant money include Wings for Kids, the Columbia Urban League and the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance.
To learn more about the summer camps, click here.