Summer Enrichment Program Provided for Building 21 Students
Building 21 Allentown 2018 provided hands-on, rigorous learning opportunities for 50 Building 21 students this summer. The students participated in work experiences at 19 different sites across the Lehigh Valley through the last two months including the following:
- Lehigh Valley Health Network (work, leadership program)
- The Baum School of Art Summer Programs
- Muhlenberg College Forensics Camp
- Penn State Lehigh Valley Entrepreneurship Program (for college credit)
- Lehigh University Summer Engineering Institute
- DeSales University Summer Theatre Institute
- Fé Program
The summer learning opportunities were offered through the generous financial support of The Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust, The Rider-Pool Foundation, the Downtown Allentown Community Development Initiative, other local funders and scholarship support from several summer program providers.
“Research is clear that summer enrichment programs can have a huge beneficial impact on student learning and outcomes,” remarked Jose Rosado, Jr., the School Leader at Building 21 Allentown. “We are very appreciative of the support that we have received from the community to make these opportunities possible for our students.”
Rising third and fourth year students at Building 21 Allentown were eligible to apply for summer learning opportunities and were matched to various offerings based on their interest and passion. All programs and work opportunities were screened by Building 21 Allentown staff to ensure that students would find their experience engaging, illuminating and connected to their interests.
“We are pleased to know these students gained experience in top healthcare, educational, arts, and leadership building organizations,” said Edward F. Meehan, MPH, Executive Director of The Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust and The Rider-Pool Foundation. “This directly mirrors several of our focused support areas including success in education and community development in the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone.”
Karilin, a student who spent summer weeks working in LVHN’s pediatric surgery department, said, “I love this program! I think it was such a great idea! Not a lot of us get to do this, and it was just fun to watch somebody else do what you want to do in the future.”
Summer enrichment programs are just one piece of Building 21’s career-connected learning program in which students are pushed to connect their learning with real-world projects in authentic settings.
