Camp Fire Columbia partners with schools and families to strengthen student achievement and extend the learning day, helping youth of all ages achieve their goals throughout the school year and summer months.
During our school-year programs, Camp Fire keeps over 1,400 students learning in a safe, challenging environment in our before-school, after-school, and in-school programs at school sites. We partner with over 20 schools, many of which are under-resourced, to provide students of all grades with:
- Academic support
- Enrichment
- Mentoring
- Leadership
- opportunities
- Experiential learning
- Community engagement
These programs are shown to increase student achievement and develop essential youth assets like confidence, motivation, and connection to peers, school, and community. We place a special emphasis on reaching our community’s most vulnerable youth—you’ll find our programs in 20 percent of all Title 1 schools in Multnomah County. We are located in 20 schools in Portland and West Linn with programs including Elementary School (Before & After School), Middle School, and High School.
Our summer programs keep kids engaged, exploring, and learning during the out-of-school months. These programs all work to battle the “summer learning slide” (the loss of learning and skills during idle summer months) while immersing youth in unique hands-on learning that turns the world into their classroom.
Whether it’s an outdoor adventure or a classic summer camp experience, our summer programs light a spark in youth, keep them learning, and re-orient their perspectives on school, their dreams, and their community. Check out Camp Namanu, Namanu Day Camp in the City, or our West Linn Day Camp to learn more about our specific summer programs for Kindergarten to 12th graders.