SHACK PROGRAMS

The Shack Festival of Fun Summer camp program is important because it offers a structured opportunity for children to grow. Kids go from home to school to extracurricular activities, with each setting contributing to their development. Summer camp is another unique venue for growth, as it allows kids to become independent and self-confident, while socializing and making new friends, and even learning new skills.  Our program takes kids going into Kindergarten (must be 5 years old, potty trained, and been to a full year of dare care or prek) to 12th grade.  When filling out the application please put the grade your child will be in.

It is important that we provide safe, affordable care to working parents but also to help with bridging academic growth during the summer months. We recognize that Summer Slide is an issue especially for those students from low-income families.  A recent study conducted by NWEA showed that  children in 3rd to 5th grades lost, on average, about 20 percent of their school-year gains in reading and 27 percent of their school-year gains in math during summer break. We have incorporated reading, math, art and science programs in our camp to keep the children engaged and on track over the summer.

The Festival of Fun Summer program begins the day Monongalia County’s school summer break begins and continues through the summer until the day before the new school year begins.  The Program operates Monday through Friday from 7:30 am – 5:30 pm; all students are provided a nutritional breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack. The Shack is licensed through the WV Department of Health and Human Service as a daycare, and to provide this program we employ: a program coordinator, seven youth leaders, a special needs coordinator, junior volunteer coordinator and assistant. We also have a swimming pool and employ a pool manager and five certified lifeguards to ensure the safety of the children while they are in our pool.

During the 2021 Summer program, 75% of our students received scholarships in order to be able to attend. The majority of the students who attended this program attend Mason Dixon Elementary and Mylan Park Elementary, both of which have free/reduced lunch assistance percentages above the State average of 51.4%. Last summer was more important to our students than other summers. After months of remote learning, the kids were able to reconnect with their friends, peers and counselors. It was evident that many of the kids suffered emotionally during those months and needed to reconnect so they could be ready for back to school in the fall.

Registration is first come first serve.

Summer camp takes place at the Shack building located at 537 Blue Horizon Dr. Camp is Monday-Friday 7:30-5:30. To be considered registered, you need to have the entire application filled out and your deposit paid in full. The packet also has the prices for summer camp which are on a sliding scale. The deposit is a non-refundable $50 per child. If you do not qualify for a scholarship but need assistance with the payment please let us know! We make every effort to work with our Shack families and do not want payment to be a reason your child doesn’t attend.