‘College 4 Kids’ prepares students for future careers

CEDAR RAPIDS - College 4 Kids, an enrichment program for area gifted and talented students, has seen record enrollment this summer with more than 1,000 students enrolled between two sessions at Coe College.

The program for sixth- through eighth-graders aims to provide children with opportunities to study subjects not usually offered during the school year.

It was launched in 1987 by the Grant Wood Area Education Agency, and the second and final session of the summer begins Monday.

Two of the most popular subject areas - and ones College 4 Kids tries to emphasize - are art and science. Grant Wood AEA student program specialist and College 4 Kids Director Susie Green said the program strives to offer education in areas where public schools cannot.

'My goal is always that they come here and number one enjoy the experience. That they get to delve into a topic that's interesting to them or they get to learn about a topic that they had never considered before,” Green said.

During College 4 Kids, the students will take three to four classes every morning for two weeks. Students can choose classes on subjects from dissection and drones to claymation and yoga. Most classes are developed and taught by current or retired teachers or professional artists.

Green said she hopes the lessons 'plant seeds” for students when they start to think about possible careers.

Jennifer Sebetka of Ely, whose children participated in College 4 Kids, said her daughter Matalyn picked up photography, while daughter Abby has taken an interest in food science.

'I think it's a great experience. They get to try a variety of classes so they can see if there's something that they may be interested in doing as a career. Then they can continue on and take other classes once they get into high school and pursue that,” Sebetka said.

Abby, 12, said she took classes in algebra, food science and business. She said her favorite part of College 4 Kids was making ice cream in her food science class.

To continue this ongoing education for students who have aged out of College 4 Kids, Grant Wood AEA recently introduced the Connect program. Connect, now in its second year, is a class for high school-age artists.

Green said the goal is to connect youths to their community through art. The 10 students who participated this year developed a student exhibit, focusing on the Czech Village, in the Artisan's Sanctuary in Cedar Rapids that will run through July 16.

'My goal is not just to connect youth and community through art but also to give kids, if they're artists and they want to continue art further into their life, ... a connection with the community,” Green said.