Summer Program’s inaugural year a whopping success

A new school year is just around the corner, but you wouldn’t have known it last week as dozens of kids filled the Columbus School cafetorium for what some might have thought was the last day of school, but in reality was the final day of the Summer Time Program.

Despite last Friday’s rainy weather, families arrived for a three-hour extravaganza of music, food and fun to cap off the inaugural year of the program, which ran for seven weeks from June 25 through Aug. 10.

“It was more successful than I imagined,” said School Committee Ann Marie Cugno, who along with City Council Vice President Breanna Lungo, came up with the idea for the program. “When it first started, we thought we knew this was something the city needs. But this program showed that the city does need it.”

Cugno, whose own kids participated, said close to 300 kids signed up for the morning portion of the program aimed at younger children while 100 older teens arrived for the nighttime activities. She added there were also several day clinics for 12-18 year olds, which were also very well attended.

“The night programs weren’t up to what we expected,” Cugno said. “Next year, we’re going to work harder to get the word out. But the full day and half day were very successful.”

George Scarpelli, director of the program, said the group was originally awaiting maybe 60 or so kids a day, but that number rose quickly.

Cugno said administrators tried to keep numbers to 100 and unfortunately, some kids ended up on a waiting list.

Additionally, the program managed to give away 16 scholarships to eight boys and eight girls from four parochial and four public schools for a free week. All this was due thanks to funds raised at the Medford Fit for Life 5K run earlier this spring in memory of D.A.R.E. Officer Pat Fahey, who passed away in January, but had been hoping to get involved with founding such a program for kids in the city.

“We’ve been lucky that everything we’ve touched so far had worked out,” Cugno said. “The day of Pat’s race, it poured, but everyone came out to support it and now this. It’s just been amazing.”

Fahey’s widow, Linda, attended the Aug. 10 good-bye bash and said she was excited by the success of the program.

“Pat would have been thrilled because that’s what he was all about, the kids,” she said. “I was in here two weeks ago and I was surprised to see how great it was going. They really did a phenomenal job.”

Parents and grandparents crowded into the cafetorium to watch their kids perform skits, dance routines and bounce along to the music of D.J. Ed said they couldn’t be more excited about the program.

“They did a wonderful job,” said Charlie Cohen, whose 6-year-old granddaughter was dancing in the crowd Friday afternoon. “I dropped my granddaughter every day and everyone was so nice. You expect that the first few days or so, but they were nice all the time.”

Rachel Rockenmacher couldn’t agree more. Her 6-year-old son, Ethan, was incredibly nervous about attending the program, but she credited Scarpelli with helping him make a smooth transition.

“He was very apprehensive,” she said. “But the director talked to him and he really seemed to care for each child. I was amazed because by the second or third day, he knew most of the kids’ names and something about each of them. His attention to each child and the counselors were all amazing.”

Rockenmacher said she was so impressed with the program that she would definitely sign Ethan up again next year.

“He’s made some new friends and I think it’s going to make first grade easier,” she said.

School Committee member Paulette Van der Kloot said she was happy about the way the program had played out and added it was definitely bringing kids from every section of the city together.

“These kids are getting to know each other and they’ll be in middle school together and then high school so they’re making bonds for the future,” she said. “Everyone here is having so much fun that it makes me wish that my kids were younger, or maybe I wish I was younger.”

“I loved their endless smiles,” Enos said, of the kids’ reactions. “They would come in in the morning and want to be near you and talk to you.”

Enos, who is a physical education major at Salem State College, added some people might think she’d be exhausted after spending hours with 5 and 6 year olds, but she definitely wasn’t.

“They have so much energy that after a while, it tends to rub off,” she said, adding she’s definitely signing up for the program again next year.

Enos was one of a handful of college students who were paid to be head counselors this summer. Cugno said high school students were also paid for their work and received community service points towards graduation. She added eighth-graders who helped out were also earning community service.

“I’ve been here every day and it’s been great,” Cugno said. “What really amazed me was that the first week of school, you have parents who don’t want to let their kids go until they see the teacher. After the first day here, we had parents dropping their kids off and letting them go into the school. It shows a lot of confidence in our program.”

And it wasn’t just the parents. When asked if he liked attending the Summer Time Program, 6-year-old Ethan took a bite of his slush and shrugged.

“A tiny bit,” he said before accompany his mother to the Moon Bounce and nearby dunk tank.