Summer Link at the Overlake School provides academic and enrichment opportunities to eliminate the summer achievement gap. Students take academic classes in the morning and in the afternoon, they explore activities like art, leadership, athletics, engineering, outdoor education, and summer classics like running through the sprinklers.
Like Rainier Athletes, Summer Link values consistency and mentorship. Summer Link welcomes students each summer before 6th-9th grades and students return for consecutive summers before transitioning to high school. They receive mentoring from high school and college aged volunteers who help them navigate the program.
“When we designed Summer Link we made sure that it was a four-year program so that students would have this as kind of a home in the summer to support them over their middle school years. Building that community, building that safe environment where students can take risks and can feel a little bit vulnerable, is foundational to all of the learning that happens afterward. ”
Summer Link is barrier-free for Rainier Athletes students - the program provides transportation, meals, and tuition free of charge. On top of that, Summer Link welcomes RA mentors on campus for weekly check-ins to help maintain consistent support for students.
“I met Eduardo for lunch at Summer Link this week. I got an awesome tour of the campus and even got to observe one of his classes. They were talking about skills for managing stress, which was really cool to see. The highlight of the afternoon was seeing Eduardo surrounded by community as we ate lunch, played tether ball, and recapped the week. It seems like he has a really fun group of friends there!”
