850 Kids Join CSUN Enrichment Classes

For most kids, summer vacation is a time to forget about academics. But for hundreds of Valley students a reprieve from school means it is time to go to college.

About 850 students in grades six-12 are enrolled in Cal State Northridge’s Summer Academic Enrichment Program, which began Monday and continues until Aug. 4.

The classes are aimed at fostering creativity, preparing students for a tough upcoming class or exam or helping them get credit for required courses in their regular school.

“At first I didn’t want to go,” said Randall Arnwine, 13, who enrolled in the art class at his mother’s insistence. “Now, I like it.”

Tuition for two two-hour enrichment classes is $350. Courses include computers, journalism, dance, SAT preparation and drivers education.

Other students pay $390 to attend a five-hour math or Spanish class.

At an eagerly awaited 10 a.m. break, students cram into the cafeteria for pizza and tacos, said Bonnie Ericson, co-director of the program.

Letting the kids feel at home on the campus is part of the program’s purpose, she said.

“One of the goals is that they develop a sense of self-reliance,” Ericson said. “They learn that college isn’t overwhelming.”

The teachers strive to make learning fun. Shelley Mark gives her art students a break to stretch, run around and scream. Drama instructor Sarah Rosenberg dreams up creative ways to break down students’ inhibitions.

In class Friday, students acted out dramatic scenarios, then froze in exaggerated poses of excitement.

At one point, students pretended to save a drowning classmate before freezing in “swimming” positions.

It was noon in the summertime, but the laughing students didn’t seem to mind that they were not really at the beach.