{"id":3359,"date":"2026-07-10T10:03:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3359"},"modified":"2026-07-10T10:03:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:03:36","slug":"santa-cruz-county-superintendent-runs-32-free-summer-camps-after-funding-fight-nearly-ended-some","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3359","title":{"rendered":"Santa Cruz County Superintendent runs 32 free summer camps after funding fight nearly ended some"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Hundreds of students in Santa Cruz County are attending free summer camps this season, but the opportunity was nearly taken away when the Department of Education froze $118 million in funding for Arizona last year.<\/p>\n

Read more He vanished at 19 in rural Arizona. Could this new image bring answers?<\/a><\/p>\n

A camp that almost didn\u2019t happen<\/h2>\n

Eighth grader Elias Pacheco is attending a free summer storytelling camp at the Nogales Public Library \u2014 for the fourth time. He says he struggles during the regular school year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not much of a good student because I might have ADHD. I haven\u2019t gotten tested, but I might, so I can\u2019t really pay attention,\u201d Elias said.<\/p>\n

Educators say free camps like the storytelling program keep students engaged over the summer. Santa Cruz County Elected Superintendent Maya Donnelly said parents face challenges keeping children in educational activities during the break.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents try their best to keep them active and educational activities and reading and all of that, but it\u2019s tough,\u201d said Supt. Donnelly who\u2019s office runs the program.<\/p>\n

There are now about 32 free camp options across the county. For some students, the camps offer more than academic support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it\u2019s something that I like, so when it\u2019s something that I like, I can focus,\u201d Elias said.<\/p>\n

Funding restored, but staffing remains a challenge<\/h2>\n

When federal funding was frozen last year, storytelling teacher Joseph Paul Wright said he feared the program would not survive.<\/p>\n

Read more Dozens of cars stolen near Phoenix Sky Harbor; 2 jailed, others sought<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was brokenhearted. I was devastated honestly,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

The money was ultimately restored, but Supt. Donnelly said there is still not enough funding to hire staff to expand the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re like running around like crazy people with our heads cut off to manage these camps,\u201d Supt. Donnelly said.<\/p>\n

Wright said the impact on students makes the effort worthwhile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have students they come in reserved and quiet, and by the end of the first week, they\u2019re best friends with everyone else around them,\u201d said Wright, who is a published author and also teaches storytelling in schools year-round.<\/p>\n

A few Santa Cruz County summer camps still have spots available. Follow this link to sign up.<\/p>\n

Isabela Lisco<\/b><\/u><\/i> is a <\/i>Report for America<\/b><\/u><\/i> corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the <\/i>Arizona Local News Foundation\u2019s<\/b><\/u><\/i> Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Hundreds of students in Santa Cruz County are attending free summer camps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSanta Cruz County Superintendent runs 32 free summer camps after funding fight nearly ended some - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3359\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Santa Cruz County Superintendent runs 32 free summer camps after funding fight nearly ended some - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hundreds of students in Santa Cruz County are attending free summer camps.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3359\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-10T10:03:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3359#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3359\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Santa Cruz County Superintendent runs 32 free summer camps after funding fight nearly ended some\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T10:03:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3359\"},\"wordCount\":503,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3359#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4364fb0ed47cc7da1bcd6050a50bca38.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3359#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3359\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3359\",\"name\":\"Santa Cruz County Superintendent runs 32 free summer camps after funding fight nearly ended some - 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