Hit the Road: A Guide to Summer on the Road

Summer is upon us and YouthQuest middle and high school students are gearing up for Summer on the Road. Combining fun summer activities with career readiness, financial literacy and service learning, the program offers students new and exciting adventures that can prevent learning loss known as the “summer slide.”

According to the National Summer Learning Association, most students lost two months of mathematical skills and fall back in reading during the summer.

Program Director of YouthQuest, Cheryl Adkins, says that having activities that teach life skills such as how to live on a budget helps kids keep up with math skills in a more interesting way.

“We want our students to overcome the summer slide without feeling like they’re still in day school,” says Adkins. “We provide fun activities that stimulate the brain and keep students physically and mentally active.”

Although their home base will be at Southwestern Classical Academy, students will be engaged with field trips to water parks and bowling alleys. They will also be exposed to college and career readiness excursions that involve learning about financial literacy at JA Finance Park and exploring different career paths as they visit Baker College of Flint and Genesee Career Institute.

The program will be capped off with a trip to Toronto, Canada, where students will have the opportunity to explore somewhere they may not have had the chance to otherwise. On their final field trip, students will see Niagara Falls, and participate in other fun activities.

Summer on the Road will run from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. June 25 – Aug. 3, with the Toronto trip taking place Aug. 13 – 15.

Enrollment is now open to students entering grades 7-12 at International Academy of Flint and Southwestern Classical Academy. If space allows, registration will extend to all students who live in Flint, regardless of where they attend school.

Families must register in-person at one of the following sites: Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary, International Academy of Flint, Northwestern High School, Potter Elementary, Southwestern Classical Academy or the YouthQuest Main Office at 519 S. Saginaw St., Flint.

For more information visit www.yquest.org.

For younger students

YouthQuest also offers summer programming for elementary students to help beat summer boredom and prepare them for the next school year. Enrollment is underway for the following sites

• Carman-Ainsworth School District (Grades K-5): At Randels Elementary, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. June 18-Aug. 2. No program July 2-5. This site will also accept students from Dillon, Dye and Rankin elementary schools.
• Flint Community Schools (Grades K-6): Brownell STEM Academy, Doyle-Ryder, Durant Tuuri-Mott, Eisenhower, Holmes STEM Academy, Neithercut, Pierce and Potter elementary schools. These sites will run from 11:30-3 p.m., July 9-Aug. 9.
• International Academy of Flint (Grades K-6): Noon to 4:30 p.m., July 9-Aug. 9

If space allows, registration will extend to all elementary students who live in Flint, regardless of where they attend school. Families can register online at www.yquest.org or call (810) 600-1422.

YouthQuest is made possible through the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

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