Summer break is often a fun and relaxing time for many students. However, when the next school year arrives, some children have trouble recalling what they had learned and picking up where they left off the previous year. This can be especially difficult for students with special needs.
To address this need in their community, Victory Ridge Academy, located in Lake Wales, developed the “Summer Camp for Children with Special Needs” program to provide daily educational and therapeutic activities designed to help prepare students for the upcoming school year. The program was funded by an Impact Polk 2018 grant from the George W. Jenkins Fund within the GiveWell Community Foundation.
In addition to school readiness, the “Summer Camp for Children with Special Needs” program helped students build confidence and independence, practice interacting with others, develop relationships and deepen friendships, learn from positive role models, and stay active with regular exercise.
Funding from the Impact Polk grant also allowed Victory Ridge Academy to purchase a golf cart to improve their medical staff’s ability to quickly respond to children on multiple campuses.
About Victory Ridge Academy: The mission of Victory Ridge Academy is to provide children and adolescents with exceptional needs intensive, collaborative classroom-based educational and therapeutic interventions to promote independence, academic success, and community inclusion for all students.