It’s time to prepare for summer programming already! We are excited to share this one pager guide to summer 2026 activities and programs, designed to provide our students with enriching opportunities for growth and exploration. From STEM and the arts to specialized gifted and talented camps, this list highlights a wide array of local and national resources tailored for students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Whether your student is interested in exploring a new hobby or attending a residential program, we encourage you to review these diverse options to find the perfect fit for your family’s summer schedule. Please note that while many programs offer scholarships, details can change, so we recommend visiting the provided links for the most up-to-date information. Find an expanded summer opportunities list here.
Check out these summer opportunities, district highlights, and much more in our GT quarterly newsletter here.
At Stephen Knight Center for Early Education, we strive to inspire happy, healthy, life-long learners in our community of students, families, and staff. As we build towards a district-wide pre-k through 12 continuum of services for Gifted and Talented students, we commit to understanding characteristics of giftedness as well as embracing the identification process in early childhood. Our instructional practices focus on elevating rigor and differentiation through questioning, understanding the unique social emotional and affective needs of gifted students, and reflecting on our practices through ongoing data analysis. We acknowledge the bias in systems of gifted and talented identification and are working towards equitable practices for identification and programming for all students in our school family. Our staff members build strong relationships with students, which enables them to look for characteristics of giftedness in all students including our students of color, multilingual learners, and twice-exceptional students, who may be underidentified.
We plan to meet these goals by intentionally planning opportunities, in our safe and nurturing environments, for students to develop background knowledge, problem solve, engage, and grow. Our instructional focus on how to support students focuses on rigorous questioning and intentional developmentally appropriate play. We create educational environments that are joyful, rigorous, and personalized to the individual strengths and needs of each student. Through our partnerships with families and the community, we have developed equitable pathways for gifted students to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally in our supportive learning environment.
Please see this link HERE for information on Gifted & Talented (GT) characteristics for ECE students, testing nominations, Early Access information for Kindergarten and first grade, and more!
If you have any questions, please reach out to the school’s front office team, or our GT support person, Chelsea Chappell-Cox, at chelsea_chappell_cox@dpsk12.net.