SUMMER AT MANSFIELD HALL
There are multiple ways to engage with Mansfield Hall over the summer:
Incoming/Newly Enrolling Students:
Incoming students are expected to arrive six weeks prior to the fall term, and participate in the Bridge to College Summer Orientation Program (please see more below).
Currently-Enrolled Students: Core Term & Summer Session:
For students who are finishing their school year with Mansfield Hall the summer offers a great amount of flexibility. Immediately following Spring Term, students enter Core Term, a 7-week term with individualized options based on our Four Core Areas (Living, Learning, Giving, Engaging).
Summer Session, which is the 7-week period preceding Fall Term, provides students the opportunity to take classes, extend an internship, serve in a leadership role with incoming students participating in the Bridge Program, or take time to be with family and re-charge for the school year ahead.
Mansfield Hall’s
Bridge to College Summer Orientation Program
The Bridge to College Summer Orientation Program Offers:
- -A generalized introduction to Mansfield Hall, so that students can become familiar with their living space, their house / room / apartment- mates, peers, staff, and the town in which they live. A focus is placed on safely navigating the town, community building, skill building, and creating social connections.
- -An introduction to Mansfield Hall’s Four Core Areas (Living, Learning, Giving, and Engaging), including introductions to Service Learning, Social Communication, Independent Living Skills and Culinary Instruction, and an introduction to the Pathways to Independence Model, Goal Setting, and Coaching – which is all integral to making the most of the Mansfield Hall experience.
- -Support during enrollment in the “Introduction to College Studies” course. Created through a partnership with Mansfield Hall and the local Community College, this introductory college course offers:
- -A supportive introduction to the college experience on a real college campus
- —-A focus on building college study skills
- —-College course social expectations and etiquette
- —-An introduction to writing college-level papers
- —-Developing tools to support Executive Functioning in the college environment
- —-Developing a “Learner Profile” so that students can understand their areas of academic strengths and weaknesses
- —-An introduction to the accommodations and assistive technologies that Mansfield Hall students can expect to use, once their courses begin in the fall semester
- —-An introduction to self-advocacy in the college environment
- -Students will have the opportunity to focus on learning and practicing the skills that will support their transition away from home, as well as have time to work through the predictable struggles of their transition, without the added layer of stress related to content-focused course-work. While students will be engaged in the “Introduction to College Studies” course, this course is focused on generalized collegiate skill-building, rather than core-content, and the entire experience can serve to build a cohesive bridge from home and high school to the fall semester at college.
- -A focus on building a cohort-community of incoming students, so that students can have time to build the social connections to both peers and staff which will help buoy them in the upcoming year.
- -Access to the robust social environment of Mansfield Hall, including a regular schedule of both in-house and in-community activities and events, which will help students develop social connections and provide opportunities for pro-social engagement and in vivo social support.
While the reasons for attending the Bridge to College Summer Orientation Program are many, here are a few of the reasons why Mansfield Hall feels strongly that engaging, and supporting, our incoming students in the summer assists in their transition to Mansfield Hall:
- -Students who come to us in the summer are simply more, and better, prepared for the Fall Semester than students who arrive in mid-August and then must navigate both the transition to college, a new town, Mansfield Hall, and intensive content-focused course work, all at the same time. The Bridge to College Summer Orientation Program offers the most supportive, and comprehensive, transition into the entire Mansfield Hall experience.
- -We highly value community, and the Bridge to College Summer Orientation Program provides students structured access into the social environment, and helps to build a cohort of cohesive and mutually-supportive students.
- -We recognize that the transition to college can stress our students, and their families, on multiple levels beyond just academics, and the added time to focus on independent living skills, and pro-social engagement, spreads out and reduces the amount of “new things” that our students must integrate all at once, thus resulting in significantly better outcomes over time. Additionally, this allows valuable time for course-adjustments or other changes to be made for the fall, depending on a student’s summer experience.
- -This added time in the summer allows for students and staff to focus on developing meaningful relationships, which are the underlying foundation of our coaching model, without the added stress of course and assignment deadlines in content-based classes.
- -Summer enrollment provides students with an opportunity to get a “a step ahead” of other incoming college students, as students in the Bridge to College Summer Orientation Program are already comfortable with their new hometown well before incoming freshman arrive for the fall semester. Exploring a new town in the summer is a great way to get the most out of what our locations have to offer.
In addition to students receiving support in the Bridge to College Summer Orientation Program, parents are also able to immediately access the Parent Coach Professionals, who can serve as a valuable resource to help families navigate this important transitional time. The Parent Coaches are an ancillary, and gratis, support service (all families receive 6 sessions with the Parent Coaches, as a part of enrollment with Mansfield Hall), and their work is in addition to the comprehensive updates and supports available to families through Mansfield Hall’s Academic Directors and Directors of Student Life.
Cost: Incoming students are expected to attend the Bridge Program – it is included in Fall Term tuition.
OPTIONS FOR CURRENTLY-ENROLLED STUDENTS
Core Term & Summer Session
Core Term Options:
Students are expected to participate in one or two program options during Core Term, as recommended by their team and in accordance with their overall goals. Students opting out of Core Term need to clear this decision with their support team and the site’s Executive Director.
Internship Program*:
Students who have demonstrated a readiness for a formal internship are given extensive support in applying for an internship with one of our local community partners. These internships provide students an opportunity to begin to apply and generalize their skills, as well as build their resume, professional, and personal connections. In addition, students may receive college credit through one of the local schools.
Internship placements are structured and selective, and not all are available every year. Past internships have included partnerships with:
- -Library (working on a project for The Smithsonian Institution)
- -GE Healthcare
- -Law, Accounting, and Advertising Firms
- -Wood Working Shop
- -Ronald McDonald House
- -Aquarium
- -Screen Printing Shop
- -Web Design
Service Learning Experience*:
For many of our students, being actively engaged in “giving back” provides the most realistic and direct way to experience and see the world from a perspective outside of their own – a skill that many of our students find beneficial. For many students, gaining meaningful vocational experience starts with participation at the volunteer level. Our Service Learning Experience offers students the opportunity to participate in both group and individualized service experiences. In addition, students may be able to receive college credit through one of the local schools.
Advanced Academic Skill Class:
In the Advanced Study Skills Program, students will participate in a credit college course, while also meeting regularly in a seminar format, led by a Mansfield Hall Academic Director and supported by Academic Coaches. The combination of curriculum delivery from the college, coupled with support, will assist students in developing advanced study skills. The added structure of the group seminar and shared content experience will allow for deeper skill development as well as social connection and collaboration for the students who participate.
Connections Readiness Seminar:
This seminar is designed for students moving into Connections over the summer or in the fall. This course focuses on independent life skills involved in living in an apartment or on campus, increasing utilization of campus resources, self care through transition times, strengthening relationships between peers in Connections, and leadership skills for college students. The Connections Readiness Seminar can be taken in conjunction with any of the other Core Term offerings.
College Classes:
Depending on individualized schedules, students also have the option of taking college courses, either as the primary focus of their Core Term, or in conjunction with other Core Term Options (ie a student may choose to take a summer session class as well as participate in the Connections Readiness Seminar). There are a number of class options that align with our Core Term, as well as classes that span Core Term and Summer Session (the 7 weeks immediately preceding the fall term).
*Internship and Volunteer Experiences will be offered as is safely available in our communities and as dictated by the organization’s ongoing response to the novel coronavirus.
Summer Session:
Many students choose to stay through the entire summer, in order to complete additional classes, live in our fabulous cities, because they have a summer job, or to extend an internship. We continue to provide ongoing supports, services, and activities across the Summer Session. It is also a time for returning students to build relationships with the incoming cohort and play a leadership role in supporting our freshman to settle into our communities, our cities, and our colleges. Residential availability for Summer Session is prioritized for students who will be continuing with us residentially for the next school year. We also have a limited number of spaces for students entering Connections, or transferring elsewhere, who wish to remain residential through the Summer Session. Connections (non-residential students) are always welcome to participate in Summer Session, as well.
Regardless of a student’s enrollment, all other aspects of Mansfield Hall programming continue during both Core Term and Summer Session, including all social activities, culinary courses, in-house clubs and seminars, and a variety of special events which are designed to make the summer a fun, enjoyable, and productive time at Mansfield Hall.
If needed, students can also take a break from college, and Mansfield Hall, and return again in the fall, into either the Residential Hall or Connections.
Cost: Core Term is included in Spring Term tuition. Students may also choose to stay on for Summer Session for an additional fee.
Currently enrolled students (and families) work closely with the Director of Student Life and Academic Director to create their individualized summer plans.