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Six Weeks, One Dash: How Pittsburgh Kids Found Theirs This Summer.

Aug 23
2 min read

Updated: Aug 24


Summer camp season has wrapped, and if you ask our DashStrom coaches how it went, you'll get the same answer: loud. Loud cheering. Loud "I did it!"s. Loud proof that when kids are given the right kind of challenge, they rise to meet it.


Over six weeks this summer, DashStrom brought the only youth enrichment curriculum that trains the growth-mindset to camps across Pittsburgh, turning ordinary summer days into a season of small breakthroughs. Mood Boards tracked changes in campers’ moods day by day. Campers learned tools for ensuring every voice in the circle got heard. And game after game, kids who started the week saying "I can't" ended it saying "watch me."


That's the whole idea behind DashStrom. Growth mindset training isn't something we explain to a child. It's something we help them experience and feel in their body. Through challenging games and super fun playful activities, our lessons get coached in practice, until it becomes part of how they move through the world. Six weeks of camp this Summer has given us a lot of chances to witness that shift.


We have lots of stories of campers overcoming challenges, struggles and trying out something new with their best effort.. One that stands out is of Becca (made up name), an 11 year-old who stood on the sidelines the first day of camp. She would not speak at all during the first day. Nor would she join in the games or circle times. While this would be something most coaches might see as a problem, our DashStrom Coaches saw this as a wonderful opportunity. That's because our training zeroes in on these kinds of struggles children face every day: Do I belong? Can I try and be supported? Are these coaches going to stand by my side, even if I don't do something perfectly? By the end of the week Becca was not only a part of the games on the field, but a leader on her team! She found her dash.


The Dash Doesn't Stop When Summer Does


Here's the best part — Summer Camp warmed us up for FALL. This Fall, DashStrom is bringing that same energy into after-school programs at schools and centers across the region, so the momentum kids built this summer doesn't have to end when the bell rings.


Families can sign up their children to find their dash in several after school enrichment programs, including:

  • Shady Side Academy Junior School

  • Winchester Thurston School

  • Propel Schools

  • Gateway School District

  • KinderCare McCandless

...and more Pittsburgh-area locations joining the DashStrom family this fall


Whether it's a first-time little dash or child who just finished DashStrom’s Confidence Camp, every class is built on the same premise: kids don't need to already be good at something to try it. They just need one more reason to believe they can. a DashStrom coach, and teammates in their corner cheering them on while they find out.




 
 
 

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