Fun in the Sun Success Stories

Jacob* is in 2nd grade and is seven years old. This past year was his first year at Fun in the Sun. Jacob lives with his mother, father, and two siblings. The entire family was born outside of the United States and immigrated when Jacob was a baby. Before Fun in the Sun, Jacob could not speak any English. He was constantly getting into fights, bullying and offending other children, and using foul language. He was falling behind in school and could barely read. Fun in the Sun has helped improve Jacob’s life drastically. Not only has his behavior turned around completely, he is speaking and reading English and his parents have been attending parenting classes. Without Fun in the Sun, Jacob would have likely continued on a troubled path, and probably would have eventually dropped out of school.

Ryan* is a seven-year-old 2nd grader who has been participating in Fun in the Sun for two years. Ryan has an older brother and a younger sister who live with their single mother at his grandmother’s house. Ryan’s father was only in his life for the first few years until he went to prison for domestic abuse. Without a father figure present in his life, Ryan tends to imitate and latch onto his older brother. Unfortunately, his older brother has many behavior problems. Ryan was extremely behind in school due to the fact he was having learning difficulties and did not seek assistance. He picked fights with other students and spoke inappropriately to his teachers. After two summers at Fun in the Sun, Ryan has completely turned himself around. He is becoming more independent from his older brother, improving his work in school, reading at one grade level higher than normal, and is making friends at school instead of being a bully. Ryan now has a hopeful future. Fun in the Sun helped Ryan to realize he had to do well in school, stop his bad behavior, and respect his teachers.
 

Jane* is an 11-year-old 6th grader who has been attending Fun in the Sun for four years. She lives with her single mom and two brothers in one rented room. Her father has been in jail for a number of years due to constant child and spousal abuse. As a result, Jane has been growing up without a father figure and acting out. Before entering Fun in the Sun, Jane was behind academically in school and her behavior was extremely unfavorable. She was picking fights with other students, using bad language, and talking back to her teachers. After attending Fun in the Sun, Jane increased her reading proficiency and is excelling in all aspects of her academics. Her negative behavior has dramatically diminished. Jane’s future is looking brighter than ever, largely due to her attendance at Fun in the Sun.

George*, a 5th grade participant at the Hollister Fun in the Sun site, came into the program with a lower-than-grade-level reading ability and showed signs of a slight learning disability. George did not have any confidence in his reading abilities and did not enjoy reading. At the start of the Ready to Read curriculum, George did not like the idea of reading, nor spending time each day focusing on reading skills. Fairly quickly, the program leaders found he was behind in his reading level and had difficulty focusing on the experience of reading.

As Ready to Read progressed, the program leaders and site coordinators observed George’s reading abilities improving and his visible enjoyment of reading. George particularly enjoyed the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Bookmobile – every time the Bookmobile visited, George would get very excited and always checked out a new book. On some occasions he would even request certain types of books from the librarian. Soon George was picking out books when he was given his choice of prizes for excellent behavior. On the last day of the program, the Santa Barbara Public Library donated a large number of books and George took a handful of them home. By the conclusion of the program, George was extremely thrilled about reading and his abilities had improved a great deal.

* Names have been changed for privacy.