Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — May 15, 2025 — As summer approaches, El Centro Hispano (The Hispanic Center) will be providing educational programs for kids with the center’s Spanish Camp and its free La Escuelita Summer Program.
El Centro Hispano program coordinator Leo Hernández said these are two separate programs, with Spanish Camp focusing on children learning Spanish, while La Escuelita Summer Program focuses on a mixture of languages.
“The kids continue learning, but in a fun way for both Hispanics or Americans, it doesn’t matter who they are,” Hernández said. “We have all of them right here and for those who don’t speak Spanish, we want to reinforce or to learn Spanish and to be able to connect to people with native speakers.”
Spanish Camp, which El Centro Hispano has hosted for 15 years, consists of three five-day sessions filled with Spanish immersion through indoor and outdoor educational activities to help children 5-12 years old learn Spanish.
“The objective is for the kids to learn Spanish through the practice of four skills of language… they write, they read, they speak, and they listen through fun activities,” Hernández said. “We focus on the Spanish culture with different topics. For example, we talk about food, or traditional dances or costumes, and everything is in Spanish. It is Spanish Camp.”
The first session will be June 16-20 from 9 a.m. to noon, the second session will be July 14-18 from 9 a.m. to noon, and the third session will be July 28 through August 1 from 9 a.m. to noon.
Sessions are $70 each, however, there are a limited number of scholarships available.
“We give two scholarships for each session,” Hernández said. “People apply for them and then we try to give these scholarships to the ones who need it the most.”
He also noted that families can decide if they want to register for one week, two weeks, or all three weeks because while each session has some of the same type of activities, they focus on different topics.
“For example, let’s talk about sports. One week we can talk about soccer, the next one we can talk about baseball. It’s still sports. It’s the same type of activity with different topics,” Hernández said. “It’s not specifically the same thing. The same materials, but different topics. So, they can go to all three if they want, but they don’t have to.”
El Centro Hispano will also be offering its free La Escuelita Summer Program, which is a program where students can learn in English, Spanish, and French.
The program is for children kindergarten through ninth grade, although El Centro Hispano will accept children pre-K if they are potty trained.
“This program is divided into two groups because it’s difficult to have all the kids in the same room when they’re little, like pre-K,” Hernández said. “It’s a bilingual program, so any kid can participate.”
The program features several learning activities such as arts and crafts, STEM activities, outdoor games, music and dance, field trips, and special visitors. The center works with institutions like the Craighead County/Jonesboro Public Library, the Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University, the Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center and more.
“The goal is to enjoy and have fun participating in educational and recreational things, while also avoiding lost learning, because they continue learning through this process,” Hernández said. “It’s like doing fun activities, but they are learning as well.”
This two-month program will run Monday through Thursday from 2 to 5 p.m. beginning June 2 and concluding July 31. Snacks are provided and transportation is available for those in need.
“The kids can actually grow from these programs,” Hernández said. “They can develop themselves. We have seen this development through the after-school program and also through the summer program because we always try to relate to the learning process of the kids.”
For more information or to register for either of these programs, call 870-931-1884 or 870-926-5810, or visit the El Centro Hispano website. The center is located at 211 Vandyne St.