San Mateo, Calif. community college has new summer program

SAN MATEO, California — An enhanced new summer program will be launched Monday, June 13 at the College of San Mateo, the county’s Community College District announced.

The Bay Area Bay Area Pathways Academy (BAPA) will run for six weeks from June 13 to July 22, with the option to register for full or half-day schedules for one or more of the camp’s three two-week sessions.

Formerly known as College for Kids, the Bay Area Pathways Academy was designed by Community, Continuing and Corporate Education to provide rising 6th to 9th grade students with summer learning opportunities and year-round impact through “a comprehensive academic, enrichment and fitness/aquatics summer learning and enrichment experience.”  

“The Bay Area Pathways Academy will be a game-changer in San Mateo County’s efforts to disrupt the cycle of summer learning loss. I’m pleased to endorse such an innovative and comprehensive program,” said Bonnie Hansen, assistant superintendent of Educational Services, Sequoia Union High School District.

BAPA’s well-balanced morning and afternoon schedules provide a combination of morning and afternoon offerings, including grade-appropriate Project Based Learning (PBL) academic classes in Math, Science, English Language Arts and Social Studies, fun enrichment classes such as sign language, acting improv, public speaking, Minecraft, coding, Spanish, Chinese and digital photography and fitness/aquatics classes such as kickboxing, U-Jam/Zumba, water polo, X-Fit, spinning, tennis and basketball.

The San Mateo County Community College District also provides scholarship support enabling foster youth and students from under-served communities the opportunity to attend BAPA and experience a life-altering experience, and is working with school districts, public agencies and community organizations to raise awareness of BAPA scholarship opportunities.

Tom Bauer, district vice chancellor of Auxiliary and Enterprise Operations, described the program as grounbreaking and first of its kind.  “We are especially grateful for the support we have received from the District Board of Trustees that will allow us to admit up to 100 foster youth and youth from underserved communities in the County into this program.  We will continue to explore creating new programs that provide critical academic support for all of our young people in San Mateo County,” he said

To learn more about registering or sponsoring a child to participate in this summer’s Bay Area Pathways Academy, visit www.bayareapathwaysacademy.org or call 650-574-6149.