NORTH CANTON, Ohio — Young kids will soon take over the Stark State College campus. Staff are welcoming back students for its “Kids’ College” summer program after a two-year hiatus due to COVID.
The program, which started in 2002 based in North Canton, averages up to 180 kids a week within its four-week timeframe.
“We want kids to have a very positive outlook on higher education, and this gives them a great maybe first step on a campus,” said Danette Bosh Alexander, Director of Kids' College. “It's a way to continue learning in the summer, but in a very fun environment.”
The summer learning program allows elementary and middle school kids to live out their dreams of what they want to be when they grow up.
“There's there are incredible options for students all over the place, and we try to expose students to areas that might be of interest to them again, whether that leads to college or not,” Bosh Alexander explained. “We often hear the students say, this is my college, I'm going to college and, you know, those kinds of things, which is great.”
Whether or not parents choose to enroll their child in the entire four-week course, they get to choose from more than 200 courses with various time slots.
“Our Firefighter Department Fire Science Department has a series of courses that we offer...and then we have classes in STEM…we have a balloon making class and a class called Hollywood Special Effects and makeup…it just exposes them to ways they can be creative, ways they can be intelligent, ways they can be expressive and to find out what they like and what they don't like,” Bosh Alexander said.
As for COVID Safety, the year’s summer program will integrate its same COVID protocols already in place on campus allowing kids from several school districts to feel comfortable and engaged.
To register for Kids’ College, click here.
For registration help, call 330-494-6170 ext. 4694 or email ashriner@starkstate.edu.
