“What’s been most satisfying is to see students have this outdoor experience and be so engaged in the STEM work and make real world connections. At Blairstown we have been able to see them engage in leadership, community, outdoor experiences, and academics. It’s gratifying to see the students have the same level of engagement with academics as they do for the ropes course work. Our classroom teachers have built stronger more positive relationships with students here at Blairstown and our high school students have been able to serve as peer leaders resulting in a stronger Great Oaks community.”
Summer Bridge Program - Combatting Summer Learning Loss
The Princeton-Blairstown Center's award-winning Summer Bridge Program is a one-week leadership and academic enrichment program that is designed to serve approximately 400-450 young people from historically marginalized communities, free of charge. Summer Bridge provides equitable access to transformative outdoor experiences, and helps students:
Lessen summer learning loss;
Build critical 21st Century skills like cooperation, communication, creativity, and critical-thinking; and
Develop positive climate and culture by forming supportive relationships with peers and adults.
Develop an increased comfort in and appreciation for the outdoor world.
The Center partners with schools and community-based organizations in Trenton and Newark, NJ and New York City to address the "summer learning gap" in an innovative way that helps youth from historically marginalized communities develop academic, physical, social, and emotional skills and strengthen their environmental awareness and stewardship at the Center’s beautiful 268-acre Blairstown Campus. For many, it is their first experience exploring a rustic setting with a lake and forest.
The Summer Bridge Program is distinguished by our small group approach where students are divided into groups of 10-12 and paired with a highly-trained facilitator and a school/agency chaperone. Our intentional curriculum is infused in social-emotional learning through hands-on, experiential, and adventure-based activities over the course of five-days and four-nights. Daily, each group engages in:
Up to three hours of hands-on Literacy, STEM, and STEAM;
An hour (T-W-Th) of waterfront activities (swimming/canoeing/kayaking);
Two hours of leadership, team-building, and problem-solving activities;
An hour of students’ choice recreational and STEAM activities; and
Daily restoration responsibilities (stewardship of their cabins, the dining room, and the wash houses) that are designed to teach responsibility and community.
The opening and closing evenings include campfire circles that focus on values clarification and celebrate accomplishments.
Each program helps build and immerse students in school/organizational culture and create a strong sense of team and belonging while enlarging each student's social-emotional toolbox to carry over into the new school year. Students and faculty/staff build relationships that can be leveraged when they return to the classroom/agency.
Some outcomes from our 2023 Summer Bridge Program include:
