FAQs

All of our Summer Challenge students are advanced in their coursework and in their readiness for Summer Challenge. We believe in a peer group of like-aged students and so limit classes to students who have completed the 5^th grade.

No. If students have already participated in Summer Challenge as a 5th grader, they automatically qualify as a 6^th grader.

Since registration is online and classes fill quickly, we are unable to accommodate “buddy requests.”

Our classes are meant as enrichment and do not match with the standard school curriculum.

Summer is a busy time and children often have many camps and activities they would like to participate in. It is understandably hard to make difficult choices between various summer activities. We highly recommend that the three weeks of Summer Challenge be solely devoted to Challenge. It can be very disruptive for the student and for the class for a child to start late or leave early.

There is a flat fee for after-class care. This is charged regardless of how many days per week your child makes use of our after-class program.

Summer Challenge classes are held in different buildings across the UW Seattle Campus. The building and room number will be emailed to families mid-June along with all the other information you will need for the first day of class.

Summer Challenge students are supervised at all times by teachers and/or teacher aides. We take plenty of chaperones on field trips and so there is very little chance of a student getting separated from their class. We also escort children to bathrooms. Students are escorted to the pick-up location or after-school program by teacher aides at the end of the day. Attendance is taken every day and families will be contacted if a child is absent without prior notice.

This is an individual decision. Many students are driven to and from campus or carpool; however, some students are comfortable using city buses or light rail. If you decide to use public transportation, we encourage you to do some practice runs with your child. If they have a cell phone, instruct them about keeping the phone charged and on.

We will do our best to accommodate your child’s needs. Parents complete an Acknowledgement of Risk and Consent for Treatment form before classes begin so that teachers and the Robinson Center staff will be aware of any relevant medical issues. You can also contact the teacher directly if you have further concerns. We train our teachers in EpiPen use and provide first aid kits in every classroom. We cannot, however, provide any medications to students without explicit parental permission.

Students should bring ample snacks and a lunch or adequate money to purchase food. However, we recommend that students bring their own lunches as often as possible as the lines can get quite long to get food at the HUB during summer. Lunch periods are determined by individual instructors, usually for 30-45 minutes between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Students in the Challenge program will be supervised during their lunch period.

Students will not have extensive homework assignments. However, you can expect an occasional homework assignment, depending on the class. This should not take more than one hour for any given assignment.