Legacy charter to offer first Summer Academy

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Try keeping a kid energized about learning all summer long. It’s no easy task.

Amanda Lankford wants to take on that challenge at a much larger scale. She is the director of the new KidsCare Summer Academy at Legacy Traditional School.

A combination of summer school and daycare, the program will run from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 26-July 29.

“There will be some educational components, like computer, Spanish, music classes,” Lankford said. There will be outside time and activities in the gym, with sports like soccer.

The day will also include free time for children at specific times in the morning and afternoon.

“We allow the kids a lot of self-choice,” Lankford said. “They can choose what they want to do.”

The academy is for children age 5-12. The teacher-student ratio for the program will be 1-to-30, and an administrator will always be on campus, Principal Nicole Mangum said.

The program is an offshoot of the highly popular KidsCare before-school and after-school program at Legacy. Mangum said that started because of feedback from parents who were leaving the charter school.

Without the transportation department of a district school, picking up and dropping off students on school hours was extremely difficult for parents commuting to work. Legacy started KidsCare last fall in an effort to alleviate the issue.

“It’s been hugely successful this year,” Lankford said.

“We even had a few come back because of the program,” Mangum said.

The students in KidsCare have homework time and playtime. Lankford said one of the pleasures of the program has been watching the older students help the younger students with their homework. "It's been a pleasure seeing the groups come together," Lankford said.

Legacy in Maricopa, the first of four campuses, started eight years ago and has an enrollment of about 1,175. “We have a waiting list for almost every grade next year,” Mangum said.

The other campuses are in Avondale, Gilbert and Tucson. All four campuses are initiating the KidsCare Summer Academy this year. Lankford will visit all campuses to oversee the operation of the program.

***ADVERTISEMENT***The academy will have weekly themes, from oceans to space to Egypt, culminating in a talent show on Week 10. The registration fee is $70 and the weekly tuition is $150. Lunch and snacks will be provided.

The cutoff for registering for the Summer Academy is May 10. Students in the program have to be enrolled at Legacy Traditional Schools. Contact Lankford at [email protected]

Registration can all be done online.