In 2006, the Vigo County School Corporation received a competitive grant from the 21st Century Learning Communities Program to provide additional learning time and enrichment to students in high poverty schools.  A districtwide committee planned and organized a middle school camp, entitled “Awesome 20,” to enable fifth grade students to transition successfully into middle school.

The Awesome 20 Summer Camp Program, now in its second year, provides an opportunity for fifth grade students entering Chauncey Rose, Sarah Scott, and West Vigo Middle Schools to gain additional academic enrichment, as well as to provide students with community-based experiences.  These students are given a jumpstart on middle school and an opportunity to begin sixth grade with self-confidence and skills that they may not have had otherwise.  Typically, these students have not scored well on standardized tests in the past. During the summer prior to entering sixth grade, students are able to work with other incoming sixth grade students to improve their reading and math scores.

The summer of 2005 marked the third year of the Awesome 20 Summer Camp Program.  Sixty students in grade five were selected for each of the three middle schools to attend the camp.  Three retired counselors assisted the schools in identifying fifth grade students who would benefit from additional language arts and math instruction.  The counselors made personal contacts with fifth grade students and their families to inform them of the many advantages of participating in this “awesome” summer program.

The Awesome 20 Summer Camp Program takes place during the first four weeks of the summer.  Students arrive at their school around 7:30 a.m., beginning the day with a free breakfast.  Following breakfast, the students begin a morning program, which includes a strong academic and guidance development component.  Sixty students are enrolled at each middle school site; therefore, they are divided into groups of twenty so a daily rotation takes place in the morning.  Certified staff teach an hour session which includes English/language arts, mathematics, and guidance. Following the academic program in the morning, students take a break with a free lunch and begin preparing for the afternoon portion of their day.  Each afternoon, the students are accompanied by teachers, also known as community supervisors, to a number of different business and recreational locations in the city and county. 

Students have experienced visits to City Hall of Terre Haute, Deming Park, Digital Audio Disc Corporation, First Financial Bank, the Swope Art Gallery, Hawthorne Park, Inland Aquatics, the Juvenile Center, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the Terre Haute South Vigo Planetarium, Terre Haute Skate World, the Tribune-Star, the Vigo County Public Library, Vigo Bowl, and the West Vigo High School swimming pool.  Students also heard from guest speakers from Hulman Field, the Twenty-First Century Scholars Program, and WTHI.  Mary Wright, of the Candles Museum, was also a guest speaker.  All admission costs for students are covered through the grant.  An important benefit of the Awesome 20 Summer Camp Program is the free transportation provided by VCSC General Services.  Students have free transportation to the three middle schools and to afternoon community activities.

Our hope is that the program assists students in becoming familiar with their new middle schools and new teachers, while promoting positive experiences in language arts, mathematics, and guidance activities.  Additionally, the community-wide educational, career, cultural, social, and recreational activities will help students become familiar with all of the enrichment opportunities available to them in the Wabash Valley community.  In addition, an important component of the 21st Century Leaning Communities Program is data collection.  A teacher at each middle school is responsible for monitoring the progress of participating students to help ensure their success in middle school.