STEP UP!
READING, WRITING, & TECHNOLOGY
STEP UP! is a six-week program offered in the Summer (June – July) to Lincoln Heights children getting ready to enter in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades in the Fall. The target enrollment is 20 children.
Step up! 2022
The program began June 20th and ended July 29th. It ran Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
A typical day would begin with a breakfast of a variety of cereals and milk. After that, it consisted of many reading experiences that promoted fluency and encouraged critical thinking and comprehension. On Monday through Thursdays, in the morning, the children gathered to listen to a story read by the activity coordinator and have some discussions on the topic. In the afternoon, they engaged in arts and craft activities that caused them to think about the moral of the story or important issues that were raised. In addition, each student got daily one-on-one sessions with a teacher to do some educational activities and assessments as well as getting ready for the 3rd grade Ohio state test . Children also had the opportunity to work on vocabulary and sight words lists. Thursday afternoons were for technology activities in the iPads and Macbooks.
Those days ended with a hot lunch prepared and delivered by Food for the Soul, which usually received rave reviews.
Fridays were field trip days. The students and staff traveled in yellow busses to places like Gorman Farms, iSpace, West Chester MidPointe Library, Cincinnati Art Museum, and Newport Aquarium. Upon returning from the field trip, the students enjoyed a bag lunch also supplied by Food for the Soul. They could then shop at ‘Holly’s Store’, which was stocked with rewards and goodies, using the play money they had earned for attendance and for especially good behavior and/or performance. Finally, every Friday each student could pick a book from four multicultural, diversity titles read that week to take home to keep and share with friends and family.
The STEP UP! staffing, including the Director, two Teachers, and the Activity Coordinator, along with food provisions were funded by an Impact 100 Next Step Award. The field trips were partially funded by a grant from the Wyoming Foundation's Joint Women's Collaborative (JWC) and the books were generously supplied by the Little Free Library of Queen City Book Bank.