July 25, 2024

Mercy Home’s Summer Enrichment program may look like fun and games, a chance for our young people to enjoy the days in between school years.

And while fun is certainly on the agenda, the Summer Enrichment Program also encourages our young people to remain fully engaged in learning during the summer. And that engagement prepares them to hit the ground running when the new school year begins.

The program also helps our youth work on their educational goals while school is not in session. Many of our young people arrive at Mercy Home behind academically. Preventing any interruption in our support of their achievement is critical. The program’s array of enjoyable outings and activities provide our education team with more tools to help our young people build upon the skills they have been gaining inside the classroom.

“Summer Enrichment is an opportunity for youth to gain confidence in an academic environment and close the learning gap that they present with upon admission,” Tutoring & After School Programs Coordinator Veronica Quintero said. “It helps them feel more confident in the classroom in the coming fall when they go back to school, and they also practice building curiosity around learning.”

Mercy Home’s young people are directed into two main groups for our summer learning programs. Some of the older youth participate in the Summer Career Institute, which provides them with job skills and career exposure through site visits and networking opportunities.

The younger youth typically participate in the Summer Enrichment Program. So far, our young people in the Enrichment Program have attended sessions at First Ascent Climbing and Fitness for indoor rock climbing, participated in team-building activities at Iron Oaks Environmental Learning Center in Chicago’s south suburbs, and even received archery lessons in our soccer building. Many of these field trips and learning experiences were first-time activities for many of our young people.

“A big barrier in the classroom and with the youth approaching academia is the fear of failure,” Quintero said. “It’s important to remind the youth that when we are exposed to trying new things, these aren’t necessarily things that anyone can approach for the first time and be amazing at. They’re things that we practice, and we learn.”

At First Ascent’s indoor rock-climbing facility, the youth learned safety skills on the wall, how to use and trust auto belay when they fell, and tried bouldering for the first time.

“My favorite part was jumping off the wall,” Gabriel, a Summer Enrichment participant, said.

“He inspired other youth to jump down when they had to trust the belay,” Quintero said of Gabriel.

At Summer Enrichment, the youth abide by three rules. Quintero asks that they believe in themselves and try, make safe choices, and use positive speech with each other. Because they live with each other year-round, Mercy Home tries to ensure that the youth feel comfortable and safe around one another.

“It’s confidence building, trying new things and an aspect of teambuilding and practicing participating in a safe space,” Quintero said. “Another big part of the young men here being able to access education is feeling safe and supported in their environment so that they can let their guard down and try something new.”

At some point, Quintero hopes that these skills can help them serve as mentors to each other or younger peers.

Not only does summer enrichment and learning occur on field trips throughout Chicago, but here at our home as well. The University of Chicago held science sessions with our young people where they learned about light waves. And each morning, youth practiced reading comprehension, financial literacy, and math skills with the education and career resource coordinators.

“Math builds upon itself,” Quintero said. “Many of the youth, even when they’re very young, say they’re never going to use math. But by the time they’re in middle or high school and decide they don’t want to fail math, then it’s very challenging for them to learn all the foundational skills that they missed. We’re trying to cultivate that buy in and show the realistic applications of math and finance.”

In the coming weeks, the youth will participate in more activities like trips to Legoland Discovery Center and going canoeing before heading back to school in the fall. For Quintero, it’s been beautiful to see the learning and curiosity our young people have shown in just a short amount of time.

“My favorite part of Summer Enrichment so far has been watching the youth develop the confidence and skills to support each other and encourage each other to the point where they are asking great, curious questions,” Quintero said.

Like all kids, summer days are to be enjoyed. But summer is also no time to let up on learning. Thanks to our outstanding education team and youth care coworkers, we’re looking forward to seeing more academic growth and success in the new school year.