Parkland’s Community Education department offers a variety of services to the public. Along with their long list of programs for adults, Community Education has several child-oriented programs. The headliner of these children’s programs is College For Kids.
Every summer, Parkland opens its doors to children in the surrounding area. The College For Kids (CFK) camp is an opportunity for children to learn skills through engaging in fun activities. The classes span a variety of subjects and are offered to a wide age range. This camp provides a great service to our community and could offer you summer employment.
CFK a conglomeration of classes offered to students ages 6-13. The classes include those focused on arts, sciences, and other marketable skills. Terry Thies, Youth Program Manager, reports that just over 50 classes will be offered this summer. Among these will be classes such as: Art in Motion, Chemistry Matters, and Babysitting 101 and Beyond classes. For a full list of classes check out the registration website.
The camp is brought together by organizers like Thies, class instructors, and assistants. The responsibilities of an assistant are similar to that of a camp counselor mixed with a student teacher. Assistants take part in the pick-up/drop-off processes, get kids where they need to be, and help instructors in the classroom.
College For Kids is seeking out applicants to fill assistant roles ahead of this summer’s sessions. While it may seem like a daunting task to work with kids, this is one of the best options for exploring the arena. Thies said “We are a very relational group- meaning that we care about one another and the kids.” She added “CFK is also a lot of fun.” While it is encouraged, prior experience working with children is not a requirement but a desire to is necessary. Thies explained, “People can also learn from our amazing instructors and watch how the instructors communicate with the children.”
Working with CFK can help develop many useful skills for the workplace and elsewhere. Thies mentioned “I want to make sure that all of our assistants gain some skills that can be used elsewhere.” While this job is oriented around working with children, other skills can be developed. Thies explained these skills include “leadership, good communication, problem solving, listening, and learning how to develop relationships with other people.”
As an assistant, employees have a chance to get paid for making a difference in the community. Thies explained “our team has the opportunity to impact a lot of kids! We strive to invest in each child that attends camp.” Natalie King, former College For Kids Assistant, said “My favorite part was seeing the kid’s two weeks of hard work payoff.” She added “being able to see the students learn and grow was so fascinating and fun.”
In total, the camp is a little more than a month long and split into two-week sessions with a one week break in between. Each day of camp is further split in two allowing children to engage in a up to four of the offered courses. Classes are two hours long with the first class of the day beginning at 12:45 pm, followed by a 3:00 pm start of the second class, before finishing up at 5:00 pm.
Applications will be accepted so long as there are open positions. While it is preferred to be available through both sessions, the organizers are willing to work with applicants. For those interested, it’d be best to apply sooner than later as there will be an orientation for accepted applicants on June 9th. For more information on CFK refer to their website, for access to the application refer to the Parkland College job board.
Disclosure: Trent Chassy is an ongoing employee of College For Kids and has a working relationship with interviewees Terry Thies and Natalie King.
