Rockdale Citizen

CONYERS -- Some Rockdale County students will get a closer look inside the Rockdale Career Academy next week during winter break.

More than 2,000 elementary and middle school students have been invited to Rockdale County Public School's winter enrichment camp at RCA. It is scheduled for a few hours each day Monday through Thursday.

Students in second through eighth grades were invited if they had demonstrated a mastery of standards by earning a 3 or 4 on their standards-based report cards.

"All courses are interdisciplinary, incorporate two or more content areas, include creative and critical thinking skills and are designed for the students' grade level," said Alex Alvarez, a director of the camp this semester.

At next week's camp, students in second grade will study Hawaiian culture, third-graders will take an Alaskan adventure, fourth-graders will study the tropics of Southeast Asia and students in fifth grade will study measurements. Middle school students will study cooking in various cultures and crime scene investigations.

About 125 students showed up to the fall enrichment camp in October. Numbers are down this year from an average of about 300 students because the program, which was once free and offered several times per year to students, now charges a $50 fee to cover expenses.

Last year, the Rockdale County Board of Education approved a cut of the program from the system's general fund budget to save $43,550 after large state cuts were handed down to local systems.

Gene Baker, assistant superintendent in the office of School Improvement at RCPS, told school board members at their monthly work session last week that he is anticipating a 60 percent increase in participation this time.

"We think we have a lot of growth there," he said.

Also this year during the break, RCA will continue to host special camps from the Career, Technical and Agricultural Education program.

The nontraditional camps, which are targeted towards male or female students in nontraditional career fields like girls in engineering and boys in medicine, are free of charge for students, as they are covered through special CTAE funds.