CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -
At the end of each school year, Clarksville police typically see a spike in crimes committed by minors, often left without supervision from parents or guardians.
Clarksville police spokesperson Jim Knoll told Nashville's News 2 they also see a rise in the number of young children left home alone.
"You can pretty much rely on it to happen," said police spokesperson Jim Knoll. "We'll start seeing some more vandalism, some smaller crimes occurring."
He said parents still have to work and often don't make arrangements for their children during the day.
Montgomery County school teacher Brooke Knight began the Clarksville Youth Enrichment Programs earlier this year.
The goal of the summer camp is to keep kids out of trouble and channel their energy into learning while being creative.
"Everything from engineering, to drama, art, creative writing, drama, problem solving, on and on and on," explained Knight.
Knight said she founded the company in January to give kids other options outside of school.
"For them to just spend a couple of weeks doing something they love, can really trigger that retention of things that they've learned throughout the year," said Knight.
Leslie McSwain said she enrolled her nine year old daughter Natalie in the summer program as soon as she found out about it.
"She loves it, she loves it," said McSwain, "She's already come home with her first art project."
McSwain told Nashville's News 2 finding a suitable camp for her daughter to attend wasn't easy and she searched online and in Clarksville publications for options.
"Just really didn't see anything that caught our eye like this activity," added McSwain, who also said, "It's difficult to find something that's going to keep them captivated."
Knight said, "Unfortunately, as teachers, we find that a lot of kids spend their summers in inactivity, or video games."
That's not what happens at Knight's programs.
There are plenty of hands on activities to keep kids engaged in the learning process.
It's keeping kids busy that Knoll believes may curb summer time crime.
"I think in probably the majority of the cases, they're probably good kids. It's one of those things where they're looking for something to do, they're bored and this is something to do," said Knoll.
"Any type of program that's going to help a kid, especially a diverse program, it's always going to help," added Knoll, "because there's something else for them to do."
The program is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Each hour and a half session costs $20.
Click here for more information.
