UPWARD, a week-long summer camp that exposes incoming sixth-grade students to their new middle school environment has expanded to Skyridge Middle School in Camas.
The 2-year-old program, which doubled its number of students served during its second year, now covers sixth-graders in both Liberty and Skyridge middle schools. The program has 207 Camas students enrolled this year, compared to 83 last summer, when it was housed only at Liberty Middle.
Heather Fresh, a mother of three Camas School District students, created the nonprofit after her family moved to Camas from Saratoga Springs, New York, in December 2014.
“It’s a pivotal point in their life,” Fresh said of entering sixth grade. “They are leaving elementary school, where teachers are still walking them to the buses, walking them to the cafeteria and they’re in a single-file line. They don’t have a lot of independence yet, and then all of a sudden we open the doors of middle school.”
The UPWARD program is modeled after an “All-Stars” program Fresh’s eldest son, Wilson, experienced in New York and recommended for his younger siblings, Wade and Charlotte.