General Information
Who are the staff members and what kind of training do they have?
What kinds of food can be purchased for lunch, and how are lunches kept cold?
What if my child wants to attend a Westside Extension College for Kids class?
Registration, reservations, payments
Check-In, Check-out & Emergencies
Off-campus activities and field trips
Which swimming pool will be used and what type of supervision is provided?
Can my children in different grades participate in the same trips and activities?
What if I don’t want my child going on a particular field trip?
Academics
The Study Institute is a non-profit organization that has been running summer camps since 1985 and after-school programs in the Los Angeles area since 1991. Its mission is to support and reinforce the role of the parent in the learning process. Children who have participated in the Study Institute’s after-school and summer programs have shown definite improvements in their grades and overall work effort, which often translates to improved grades. Elston Pyne is the founder and director of the Study Institute.
The Study Institute Summer Camp began in 1985, and has been held at West Los Angeles College in Culver City since 1997. It is geared for children ages 5-14.
The Summer Camp combines summer fun with academic stimulation. Summer fun includes recreational activities such as swimming, roller skating, bowling, and going to the movies or the beach, field trips to major Southland amusement parks, sports, dance and other electives. Academic stimulation refers to instruction and tutoring in mathematics, reading, writing and language arts.
The headquarters for the camp will be the West Los Angeles College campus in Culver City. The campus is located at 9000 Overland Ave. Activities such as swimming, the movies and skating will be held at facilities near the campus. Field trips will be to major attractions in Southern California such as, Soak City, Universal Studios, Magic Mountain, Hurricane Harbor, Knott’s Berry Farm, Raging Waters, Boomers Fun City, Adventure City, Golf N Stuff, and Wild Rivers. Major field-trips will be offered at an additional cost as noted on the camp calendar, brochure, and weekly reservation form.
The camp will run 10 weeks, from Monday June 21, 2010 thru Friday August 27, 20010. Camp will not be held on Monday, July 5, 2009.
The program uses teachers from LAUSD, Inglewood Unified, private schools and counselor/tutors who are university students. The majority of our counselors/tutors are individuals who work with children year-round in the Study Institute’s after-school program. Many of the counselors have B.A. degrees (or are close to graduation) and have about two to three years of experience working with the Study Institute. Supervisors average about five years of experience. Some junior counselors will be either recent high school graduates or high school students. There are always staff members present who are trained in CPR. Parents are encouraged to visit and watch as long as they set up an appointment with the director beforehand.
The ratio is 10 students per counselor for the older children. It will be 8-1 for younger children, and as low as 6-1 on major field trips. Jr. Counselors will assist regular staff with students in K-4th grade.
Academic instruction begins at 8:30am. Math, reading, writing and language arts are covered. Groups will go to lunch at 11:00am, 11:15am or 11:30am. Following lunch, students are doing activities on campus such as sports, self-defense, archery, gymnastics, dance, or they are boarding the bus for off-campus activities such as the movies, swimming, bowling, skating, and other recreational activities. With the exception of Wednesday’s major field trip, campers will return to WLAC between 3:30pm and 5:00pm and have recreational time outside until they are picked up. On Wednesday’s major field trip, the students will leave the campus by bus at 8:30am and return at 6:00pm. Mondays, and Fridays are local trip days, with Tuesdays and Thursdays reserved for on-campus activities such as Computers(key boarding), Art, Spanish, Sports, Dance, Archery, Karaoke, Drama, Gymnastics, and other fun activities.
Food service at West Los Angeles College is limited. A lunch truck is available where students can get sandwiches, burgers, burritos and a variety of other foods for $3-$5. Occasionally, arrangements will be made to get food off-campus at Burger King, McDonald’s or Pizza Hut. Many parents pack a sack lunch and snacks for their children. The lunches are kept cold in large ice chests. Arrangements can be made for special needs or medication. If you do not feel comfortable giving lunch money to your younger children, the Study Institute staff can take responsibility for allocating his or her money for the appropriate activities.
The use of public restroom facilities is a major concern for parents of school-age children. To avoid problems in this area, the following procedure is routinely practiced by all Study Institute employees. There are regularly scheduled restroom breaks throughout the day. Counselors will accompany students to use the restroom. The counselor will first check the restroom to ensure that students are able to safely use the facility. Counselors are instructed not to go into the restroom while children are using it. After children have used the facility, the counselor will recheck the restroom to make sure it has been properly used.
Typically, we don’t encounter behavioral problems. The children attending the Study Institute enjoy the experience and appreciate the opportunity to participate in exciting and fun activities. Children who repeatedly break camp rules will be removed from the program. By registering students in this program, parents have, knowingly, given permission for staff members to appropriately discipline students by preventing them from fully participating in scheduled recreational activities. Failing to comply with classroom rules and refusing to do required work will result in students being restricted from full participation in recreational activities. Having children watch while others are participating in camp activities has proven to be an effective deterrent for misbehavior.
The Westside Extension College for Kids program offers academic, arts and crafts, dance and recreation classes for children in the summer. If you wish to have your child participate in an Extension class while attending the summer camp, Study Institute counselors can escort your child to and from the Extension class providing that there is not a conflict in time schedule. To register for a Westside Extension class, contact the Westside Extension office at (310) 287-4475. Since both the Study Institute and Westside Extension handle many students, you must notify the Study Institute staff prior to your child’s participation in any Extension classes.
A one-time processing and registration fee of $50 per child is required for all campers. The fee includes a camp T-shirt for each child. An additional T-shirt may be purchased for $8.
The camp itself costs $165 per week per child. The following indicates the cost for siblings:
2 children=$320 3 children=$460 4 children=$610
These fees include the cost of bus transportation, most field trips, movies, skating, swimming and other activities. There is an additional cost for major field trips. Please review the "2009 Calendar of Summer Camp Activities and Trips". All Major Field Trips are listed along with the cost. Please pay the additional cost for those field trips at the same time you make payment for that week. Food and snacks are not included in this program—parents must either provide snacks or give children money to purchase snacks.
Contact Elston Pyne for information on the availability of alternative payment plans. For all alternative payment plans, approved authorization forms must be submitted with your application prior to enrollment.
You will pay a non-refundable $50 registration fee per child and fill out a reservation/registration form indicating which sessions your child plans to attend. Each session is one week long. You may choose as many weeks as you like, depending on your summer plans. To reserve a spot for an upcoming week, you must pay the enrollment fee in full by the Friday of the previous week (pay by Friday to reserve starting the next Monday) If you wish, you may pay in advance for several weeks. This allows us to schedule staff and transportation more efficiently.
There are field trips that involve an additional cost. Please pay for those field trips at the same time you make your payment for that week.
Be sure to note for yourself which sessions you have chosen. The Study Institute does not send out confirmation receipts or make reminder phone calls.
You may make checks or money orders payable to The Study Institute. The Study Institute also accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and debit cards. A processing fee of 2% will be added to each credit card transaction. You may call 800-378-4395 to utilize this form of payment. If you wish to pay cash, you must make arrangements with the director or supervisor and obtain the necessary receipt for such transactions.
No.
No, you are not obligated to pay for weeks not attended, such as a week that your family is out of town on vacation. However, if you have prepaid for that week, you must cancel (see below) to receive a refund. Since transportation costs, field trips, and staffing are based on a projected number of students as indicated on weekly enrollment forms, refunds are typically not given. Please give advance notification if there is a specific problem preventing your child from attending camp for a given week.
If your child cannot attend a week that you have already paid for, you must notify the Study Institute by Monday of that week. Cancellations will be subject to a $20 cancellation fee. There will be no refunds granted after Monday as transportation and staffing have already been arranged based upon the number of reservations.
Check-in is from 7-9:00 a.m. each morning at the designated area on campus. Children dropped off between 7 and 8:30 a.m. will interact with peers and counselors prior to the start of class. At about 8:30 a.m., most of the children have been escorted to their classroom for academic work. Children dropped off after 9:00 a.m. are to be signed in at Room C-11 (located near Lot4A). On major field trip days (Wednesdays), please make sure that your child is signed in by no later than 8:30 am. Late arrivals may miss the bus and the task of getting to the designated location will be the responsibility of parents.
Each morning, the person dropping off the child must sign in on the sign-in sheet. The Study Institute staff members at the sign-in area are authorized to collect weekly payments. If money is to be left with the camp counselors to hold for a child’s lunch or snacks, that should also be indicated on the sign-in sheet. Also, parents should remind staff members when children are participating in Westside Extension classes in order to arrange the appropriate escort to and from that elective class.
Check-out time is from 4:30-6 p.m. on all days except the day that your child’s grade level attends a major field trip. On major field trip days, (Wednesday) students will typically return to the campus at 6:00 p.m.
Check-out will also require a signature from an authorized person. The Study Institute will only release a child to someone who has prior authorization, as indicated on the child’s original application form or emergency form. If someone else tries to pick up your child, the Study Institute will not release your child until phone contact is made with the parent and instructions are given. Note: You will be asked some questions over the phone to ensure that you are indeed the child’s parent. For all special arrangements, speak with the camp director in advance to ensure that the check-in and check-out process goes smoothly and quickly.
There is a 30-minute grace period on regular (non-field trip) days. Children must be picked up by 6:00p.m. After 6:00 p.m., the aftercare fee is $10 for every 15 minutes. This fee must be paid by cash or check directly to the counselor when picking up your child.
Yes, but it must be pre-arranged with the Study Institute staff. Be sure to speak with the staff that morning to discuss the early pickup and arrange where on campus you will need to go to pickup your child. You will still need to sign out your child. Do not simply pick up your child without signing out. Otherwise, the Study Institute staff will be led to believe that the child is not accounted for.
In an emergency, you will be able to reach us at the following cell phones numbers:
(951) 315-7402, (323) 395-2792 or (800) 378-4395. As a last resort, the Westside Extension office may be able to assist (310) 287-4475.
The camp will use the Culver City Plunge, and Rancho Cienega (Cheviot Hills/Rancho Park). Parents and campers will be informed which days are swim days—last year it was on Tuesdays. On that day, campers will need to bring swimsuits and a towel. The Plunge and Rancho Cienega have certified lifeguards on duty at all times and limits the number of persons who can be in the pool at one time. Swimming lessons may be offered as a Westside Extension class. The parent orientation will provide parents with the necessary enrollment information.
World on Wheels roller rink on Venice & San Vicente . They offer special matinee skating. Ice skating will be held at the Culver City ice rink on Sepulveda.
Younger children will only see movies rated G or PG. Older children may be allowed to see PG-13 movies if authorized by parents providing that it does not involve nudity. On occasion, if there are not enough G & PG rated movies, students will see an educational IMAX feature at the Museum of Science and Industry. Parents will be able to indicate what movie ratings their children are permitted to watch.
For nearby activities such as swimming, movies and skating, campers will be transported by bus to the various locations near the campus. For most of the local recreational activities, students are shuttled in age appropriate groups using two busses. All of the major field trips are outside city limits and require that multiple busses be used to ensure that we arrive in a timely fashion.
Only on major field trip days (Wednesdays). The T-shirts help counselors identify the children faster in crowded and busy environments like amusement parks. An additional T-shirt may be purchased for $8. If children forget their T-shirt on a field trip day, one may be provided, if additional T-shirts are available. Parents will be billed an additional $8 for the T-shirt.
On field trips, all children and counselors in a group must participate in the same activities. So the answer to the question is “Yes” as long as interests, age and other factors (i.e. height for amusement park rides) allow them to participate in the same activities.
Yes, but you may have to drive there in your own car since bus seating is limited. Check with the Study Institute to see if there is space available on the bus.
The study Institute staff is involved in daily recreational activities away from the WLAC campus. Campers travel in groupings of K-4th grade, 5th– 6th grade & 7th– 8th grade. All staff members are involved in daily activities away from the campus and only in cases of emergency will any staff member be asked to remain on campus with a child. The only manner in which we can accommodate a parent’s request to not have their child participate in a particular field trip is if the parent agrees to have their child placed with an older or younger age group for that day.
The Study Institute is primarily concerned with having students maintain an academic focus throughout the summer break. The teachers and tutors focus on reviewing the work that students will be receiving in their promoted grades and helping children catch up with their studies. All the academic work will be done in class. Students will not have homework or take-home projects to complete. If parents wish, their children may be put in an advanced group. The actual curriculum plan will be available at the orientation, but the information below will provide the basic structure for areas covered each week.
Kindergarten – 1st grade will focus on grade level math and Language Arts skills. Students will spend considerable time covering phonics, vocabulary, reading, and general penmanship.
Math (2nd-8th grade)
The main goal is to increase computational speed & introduce new concepts.
Skill building (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) 3- and 5-minute drills.
Problems for the day (review work) 5-10 problems; indicates whether a child should be concentrating on review, catch-up remediation or enhancement exercises for the day.
Weekly concepts (enhancement introduction) Each week the Study Institute teachers will introduce new concepts to focus on. Examples might be subtraction, division, regrouping or fractions.
Work stations (group tutoring) The children will be divided into groups based on their ability. They will go over problems, review work, learn new concepts and get individual attention.
Weekly quizzes The quizzes help the teachers determine whether students are making satisfactory progress with the material. It may be necessary to alter the instruction to meet individual needs.
Language Arts (2nd-8th grade)
Daily writing assignments (paragraphs) Children will learn how to structure their thoughts in short paragraphs. They will learn how to support their thoughts, and bridge paragraphs with transitional words to make the thoughts flow smoothly.
Reading (fluency and comprehension) The children will perform skill-building exercises to increase their reading speed and comprehension. Kindergartners and first graders will read aloud in their groups, while older students will read to themselves.
Punctuation Learning to use the proper punctuation is crucial for good writing.
Parts of speech (diagramming) Diagramming sentences is a great way to learn good grammar. Students will learn how to break down sentences to identify subjects, objects, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions.
Cursive Practice (general penmanship) Using drills, the children will practice their cursive handwriting.