It might be the middle of the summer, but that doesn’t mean that learning has stopped at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale McKee Branch.

The local Club branch partnered with the Fountain Hills Unified School District to host enrichment classes this year, something Youth Development Supervisor Maggie DeBruin said has been a huge success for the branch and students alike.

In recent years, FHUSD’s summer school program has operated at a cost to the district. To help offset that red ink, the district this year partnered with the Boys & Girls Club, who took over the non-academic offerings.

The original summer school partnership was established by former Branch Director Justin Duran and FHUSD Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney. When Duran left the branch, DeBruin and new Branch Director Lauren Stratton kept the ball rolling.

Along with using their own Facilities, the McKee Branch has been granted access to several classrooms at the neighboring Four Peaks campus. The branch also hosts and pays the teachers for the courses.

The McKee Branch is no stranger to enrichment programming, as they ran similar courses through the summer in 2015.

“[Hosting these classes] just makes sense,” DeBruin said. “The kids get to pick what they want to be a part of every day, so they’re very invested and engaged in what they choose to learn. That’s one of the things the Boys & Girls Club is all about, engaging youth in something that’s positive and that they can learn from. It’s fun with a purpose.”

DeBruin said that this year’s summer school program has been a solid evolution of what the branch has done in year’s past. Keeping the enrichment classes in the morning, she said it’s also a great way to break up the day for local youngsters.

“Morning time is learning time and the afternoon is a bunch of fun,” she said. “They’re still engaging in activities that are teaching them something in the afternoon, but it’s definitely more focused in the morning.”

Courses range the spectrum, honing in on students’ interests and desired skills. Cooking is as popular as ever, as are the several arts and crafts classes.

“We actually have a duct tape creation class, where they focus on making things out of duct tape,” she continued. “I’m actually teaching Spanish this year, and we offer different sports every week. We’re doing SuccessMaker as well, which has gone well at the schools, and that’s keeping the kids engaged as they get ready for school to start again.”

It’s that learning process that DeBruin said is so important during the summer months. Summer school enrichment courses are typically through by this point in the summer. This year’s program got started a week after the school year ended and still has a couple weeks left before wrapping up.

“There’s a lot of learning loss in the summer, and this helps counteract that,” DeBruin said. “It gives the kids something fun to do but, at the same time, they’re going to get a lot of learning out of it. I think that’s really important.”

While enrollment fluctuates depending on the week, DeBruin said that the typical group of participants ranges from 100 to 130.

“The kids love it,” she added. “It’s my favorite time of the day because the kids are so engaged in what they are doing. I have no issues with discipline during the mornings. They really want to be there and they love it.”

DeBruin said that this enhanced enrichment program is something the McKee Branch hopes to continue in the future and that, next year, she hopes they can get even more local teachers on board to help out in the various programs.