TYLER, Texas — Summer is just around the corner. Parents know that it's hard keeping kids busy and not bored during the summertime.
The Mentoring Alliance Summer Camps kick off May 31 and they're offering more locations this summer.
"So this summer, we will have Boulter Middle school, Three Lakes Middle School, Hubbard Middle School, Moore Middle School, and then a site in Whitehouse at Higgins Elementary," said Suzette Farr with the Mentoring Alliance. "We hear often from a lot of our parents, that is definitely the best deal in town. Our summer camps offer a wide array of things that are very important to parents from amazing fun that summer camp brings, but also academic components where we have teachers. They're providing academic time in reading and math. And so, I definitely think that that puts us a step above the rest," said Farr.
The Mentoring Alliance says their day camps for kids (incoming first graders through incoming seventh graders) were created to be challenging and fun for them while convenient and affordable for parents.
"Because it is certified educators and teachers that are in our camps, and what we've seen is that if your kid attends camp for four or more weeks, you see progress and less of the regression of the summer slide in their reading and math so your kids getting in that classroom day one ready to roll without missing a beat. So it's definitely kind of a both and and we know that often kids, do you go into a school kind of a little behind because they've kind of been lagging around all summer. This kind of helps us partner well with our school districts to combat that."
Farr says they will still have COVID protocols in place and their medical director leads them in that area. Masks will be optional this year.
"Mask will be optional for parents and kids... just what they decide. And so what that allows is a lot more time for those fun activities that kids want to do like waterslides, and off the wall and skits and plays and all the fun activities that they get to do, we'll be able to do that. But we'll be able to keep kids safe. We'll have plenty of hand sanitizer. We'll be cleaning and we'll be keeping kids in their clusters and keeping them safe in those many ways for sure," said Farr.
They're also looking for camp counselors.
"We are looking for some exciting, fun leaders that are passionate about serving children in a Christ centered environment. "If you're a high school senior, or college student, just young adult who wants to get out here and work with our staff, we have openings and spots available for half summer or full summer," said Farr.
If you're interested in learning more about Mentoring Alliance Summer Camps, you can call them at 903.593.9211 or visit their website.
