Kindergarten Countdown Camp 2017 Recap

This past summer, our Success By 6 Program hosted two Kindergarten Countdown Camps (KCC) in the Waukegan and Beach Park communities. At KCC, incoming kindergarteners learned the basic skills needed to start school this fall on the right foot. Here to share the results from our 2017 Kindergarten Countdown Camps is our Success By 6 Program Manager, Edna Galvan.

What is Kindergarten Countdown Camp?

Kindergarten Countdown Camp is a free summer program for incoming kindergarten students with limited to no preschool experience that provides them with the skills and resources they need to have a successful start to kindergarten.

Where did KCC take place this summer? How many children attended?

This past summer, we held Kindergarten Countdown Camp in Waukegan and Beach Park serving 69 students.

What were the results of the 2017 Kindergarten Countdown Camp?

At the start and end of KCC we assessed the students on their knowledge of 8 kindergarten readiness skills which are colors, numbers, letters, shapes, writing their name, general coordination, fine motor skills, and book familiarity. In Waukegan, at the start of camp, 29% of the students averaged ‘in progress’ or better across the eight skills. By the end of camp, 50% of the students averaged ‘in progress’ or better. At the start of KCC in Beach Park, students averaged 39% and by the end of KCC, 50% of the students did.

Which Community Partners helped make Kindergarten Countdown Camp possible?

• Waukegan Public School District 60
• Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3
• Women’s Leadership Council
• Grainger
• Kohl Children’s Museum
• Quill

Any personal stories of children that have been impacted by KCC?

At the beginning of camp we had one student who came in not knowing how to write or identify the letters of their name. With the support of his teachers and volunteers he practiced writing his name one letter at a time. By the end of camp, he was able to successfully write his name and became one of the few students of his class who was able to write his name.

Click to play the video below to meet the teachers and children who attended this summer’s Kindergarten Countdown Camps.