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WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | JUNE 23, 2021
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EMCC’s Kids College opens registration BY LAUREN SERRATO
West Valley View Staff Writer
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strella Mountain Community College’s Kids College is returning, this time online and in person. Open to children ages 8 to 16, EMCC offers a wide range of classes that last three days to six weeks, starting in June and July. Class topics include culinary, creating with art, sign language, 3D printing and design, and specialized classes that focus on academic topics such as coding and science. EMCC prides itself on offering affordable summer options for parents in which to enroll their kids. “The community college is here for the community, and so being able to offer classes at an affordable rate is what part of our mission is,” said Landis Elliott, EMCC’s workforce development manager. “We want to be able to offer affordable classes to the community and provide something to engage those from learners.” Elliott said this summer the program is introducing “Wild About EMCC: Experience Nature in our Backyard.” During the class, students will learn about native and pet-trade species maintained within the Life Science Division at EMCC. They will also study the care, ecology and handling of numerous reptiles, arthropods and small mammals used in EMCC’s Animal Ambassadors Community Outreach Program. Students will harvest vegetables in EMCC’s teaching garden, survey for burrowing owls around the campus’ artificial burrows, feed the college’s outdoor turtles and create several nature-themed crafts. To cater to parents who don’t yet feel comfortable sending their children to campus, EMCC will also offer live online computer gaming and coding classes. Students will be able to learn how to make their own video games;
create an animated Minecraft video on YouTube; or learn the basics of coding languages such as HTML, JavaScript and CSS. Elliott said it was disappointing to not have in-person classes last summer. However, she’s excited and confident about the classes being offered the next few months, thanks to the program’s COVID-19 precautions. “It was devastating not being able to have the kids on campus. We pivoted and had some online Kids College classes,” she said. “So this year, we do have a few online Kids College classes for those that might not want to come onto our campus, but for those coming on campus we reduce the size of the classes. We’ve implemented social distancing guidelines, and all of our students and the instructors are wearing masks.” Elliott said many classes are designed to help stimulate a newfound passion for the child’s future in a variety of fields — and to escape the heat. “What we’re trying to do is not only have a really fun experience for the kids, but we also want to engage them in potential career fields,” she said. “All of our Kids College classes, including our art classes, too, are just there to spark the student’s interest to see if that’s an area they might want to do in the future for a career.” Of all the classes offered, Elliott said “Culinary Kids — the Bakery” is one of the program’s most popular ones. The class roster for the culinary course is already filled, but Elliott said parents can add their children to the waiting list. “After they get some instruction, they take their learning into our culinary kitchen, our campus kitchen, which is really cool and large, and all the equipment’s in there,” she said. “We have instructors then take them through actually doing the baking and, in this case, making the desserts, too.
At the end they have a really amazing snack tray.” Whether parents choose online or in-person classes this summer, Elliott said there is something to engage all young learners. “The takeaway is going to open up the young scholars’ minds to the possibility of doing something they love as a career in the future,” Elliott said. “Who knows, maybe we’re going to see the scholars back on campus in the future, taking classes toward a certificate or an associate degree at Estrella Mountain Community College.”
All in-person classes will take place at EMCC, located at 3000 N. Dysart Road in Avondale. To register, visit estrellamountain. edu/kids-college.
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