For the past two years, enrichment programs for youngsters at Beacon Place were stymied by the coronavirus pandemic, going from nonexistent after an initial shutdown to virtual.
All that is about to change.
Live enrichment programming returns to Beacon Place for kindergartners through high school seniors Monday at its southeast Waukegan building, allowing youths from different schools to renew their friendships face to face rather than through a computer screen.
“We’re going to fill the house again with laughter and love,” Barbara LaFasto, a co-founder who runs the Launch Program for eighth graders and high school seniors, said. “I can’t wait. It will be great for the kids to get out of the house and come to Beacon Place.”
While masks are optional for participants, Rosa Vara, the parent and community outreach manager, said caution is requested. People should not come if they have a cold or other symptoms.
“We’re going to be pretty much open,” she said. “We’ll follow county standards. Students will be in a regular classroom setting. The groups will be small.”
Vara said the enrichment programs are free. A call to her is all that is required to register a youngster. The programs are a partnership between Beacon Place, the children and their families. There is one prerequisite.
“The parents have to commit to good attendance,” she said.
Kindergartners through seventh grade students can meet between 4 and 5:30 p.m. either Mondays and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Thursdays. They can also come between 10 a.m. and noon Saturdays.
Classrooms are divided into four groups, with kindergarten students and first graders in one room, second and third grade students in another, fourth and fifth graders in their own class and there is a room for sixth and seventh grade youngsters. All classes have an adult teacher and at least one teen volunteer.
Valerie Touchton, the education and enrichment program manager who oversees classes for the kindergartners through seventh graders, said programs are geared for each age group in an appropriate way. Since there are two grade levels per room, it works well for youngsters at different academic levels.
While all the students are learning about zoos and zoo animals, she said the younger children learn what they look like and the sounds they make, middle school students learn about endangered and extinct species, as well as how animals should be treated.
“We find ways to include reading, math and science,” Touchton said. “We tie in a little bit of everything.”
The Launch program for eighth graders and high school students meets from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. each Friday. LaFasto said the twofold goals are assuring everyone receives a high school diploma and knows if the best thing for them after that is a four-year university, a two-year college, the military or a career in the trades.
“Whatever it is, we want to help them get there,” she said.
LaFasto said eighth grade students are included with the high school group because it is the ideal time to get them on a path to secondary school success. Though many of the participants go to the public high schools in Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion, for some a private school may be the right choice.
“They need to know what classes to take,” she said. “We talk to them about private schools and financial aid.”
Along with Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion-Benton high schools, Vara said some Beacon Place participants also attend Carmel Catholic High School, Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep in Waukegan, Woodlands Academy in Lake Forest and one is home-schooled.
As the youngsters explore topics in the Launch Program, LaFasto said they express themselves through art and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math), and often discuss current events. A recent topic is the war in Ukraine. They recently sent letters of solidarity to students their age in Ukraine.
“We want them to learn about it, and tell each other how they feel about it. We want them to express their feelings,” she said. “We want them to learn about new places and experiences.”
Along with enrichment programs through the school year, Vara said there is summer camp for children in kindergarten throng seventh grade. It opens June 20, and parents can register children at the door.
