Cambridge, Minn. - Anoka-Ramsey Community College Kid U/College for Kids & Teens has new scholarship funds available for students who want to enroll in this summer’s program.

Courses for the popular summer program, now celebrating its 10th year, range in cost from $35 to $95 each. The new scholarships, funded entirely by private donations, will be made available in $90 increments for any courses being held in Cambridge. To be eligible for a scholarship, students must have qualified for free or reduced lunch programs during the regular school year.

Kid U offers a wide variety of four-day courses in science, computers, visual arts, music, theater, language, literature, sports & fitness, and more. Courses on the Cambridge Campus of Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) are scheduled for Aug. 2-5 and Aug. 9-12. The program serves area children ages 5-18.

Anoka-Ramsey Community College Kid U participants (from left) Andrew Nelson, 11, and Kevin Britz, 10, test out the pinball machines they built in “Carpentry for Kids.”

“We want to offer kids an opportunity to have a positive, fun college experience at an early age,” says LeAnn Snidarich, Kid U Program Director. “The earlier they can see that college is desirable and attainable, the more likely it is that they’ll complete high school and go on to college.”

This year’s program has already energized hundreds of kids on the Coon Rapids Campus, where classes have been in session since July 12. The four-day classes, with names such as “Horse Crazy,” “Electrical Adventures,” “Brain Blasters and Boggles,” and “Create Your Own Costume,” have kept kids hopping.

Anoka-Ramsey Community College Kid U participant Serena Lambert, 9, practices her drawing skills in “Sketchbook Drawing.”

Kid U was developed in 1995 on the Coon Rapids Campus through the Continuing Education and Customized Training division as part of ARCC’s mission to provide lifelong learning opportunities. The program expanded to the Cambridge Campus in 2000.

It continues to grow. While in its first year Kid U attracted 358 course registrations, total registrations this year have climbed past 1,500 for 265 course sections. In fact, this unique program has blossomed into a thriving institution anxiously awaited each year by students and staff alike.

“Some of our Kid U students from the early years have now returned to teach for us,” Snidarich says. “And one instructor who lives in Virginia returns to teach every year.”

For more information about Kid U/College for Kids, contact Program Director LeAnn Snidarich at 763-422-3375, or visit http://www.anokaramsey.edu/continuingEd/kidu.cfm.