Countdown to TAG Camp!
Join us at Sweetwater Elementary Starting June 1, 2026
- 00 Days
- 00 Hours
- 00 Minutes
- 00 Seconds
A Look Inside 2025 Summer Camp!
@TAG x Glendale Libraries
What is TAG Summer Camp?
An Annual Collab: Translational Adapted Group (TAG) x Local Education Agencies
Next Camp Offering Begins June 1, 2026 with Washington Elementary Schools
TAG stands for Translational Adapted Group, which represent the values of the community programs we offer: accessible education, meeting clients/families where they are, and building community. The TAG Summer Camp is an intensive, educational summer program for early elementary-aged children, hosted in collaboration with Local Education Agencies (LEAs). TAG Summer Camp is designed to support early reading, self-regulation, and social communication skills through a universally designed, adapted group curriculum that emphasizes group synchrony, engagement, and connection in all activities.
TAG Summer camp is run by the TAG Scholars including 8 graduate SLP students trained in inclusive group intervention methods by:
- Dr. Schea Fissel Brannick, PhD, CCC-SLP
- Julissa Werth, MS, CCC-SLP
Additional Details:
- Adapted via Universal designed for learning (UDL) methods:
- Delivers instruction through multiple modalities
- Allows for student learning through multiple modalities
- Prioritizes student engagement and participation
- Inclusive: Supports engagement of children with and without disabilities.
- Neurodiversity-affirming:
- Child interests are centered within structured learning activities
- All behavior is interpreted as communicative and meaningful
- Child learning strengths are used as the foundation through which new skills are acquired
- Group-based synchronous activities offer opportunities to connect with other children.
- Individualized and group instruction
- Weekly activities are organized around a theme, which supports understanding and generalization.
- Offered immersively via translanguaging in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language
2025 Parent Testimonials
@TAG x Families x Glendale Libraries
“My son loved all the games and the opportunity to socialize with other kids his age in a small group setting. He is an only child and doesn’t have much opportunity to engage with other kids. He really enjoyed all the songs and craft activities. We highly recommend the program because it gave him an opportunity to practice classroom skills before he started kindergarten. I also liked that it was a smaller group than the typical story time. He looked forward to going every morning.”
Mom of a 2025 Participant
“My child loved all the games and the opportunity to socialize with other kids his age in a small group setting. He is an only child and doesn’t have much opportunity to engage with other kids. He really enjoyed all the songs and craft activities. We highly recommend the program because it gave him an opportunity to practice classroom skills before he started kindergarten. I also liked that it was a smaller group than the typical story time. He looked forward to going every morning.”
Mom of a 2025 Participant
“My daughter loved the friendly , welcoming environment and the way the activities made reading fun. She especially enjoyed story time with other kids and the playful games that helped her engage with books. I enjoyed seeing her so excited to go every time and watching her confidence and social skills grow . It's an inclusive, supportive program where children of all abilities can thrive. The Midwestern University staff were super patient , creative , and made learning feel like play . It's a wonderful ( and free) way to keep kids engaged over the summer , build social skills and spark a love of reading.”
Mom of 2025 Participant
Frequently Asked Questions
-
When would the camp happen?
In 2026, the TAG Summer Camp will begin June 1 and end June 25. Camp is hosted at Sweetwater Elementary School Mondays through Thursdays, from 8:15am - 11:30am.
-
Who can attend?
The TAG Summer Camp is inclusive, and so is open to kindergarteners and first graders with or without the following disability categories: autism, developmental delay, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, specific learning disorder, speech or language impairment. Additionally, students with behavioral self-regulation differences, students who use AAC (including sign language), and students who are English language learners may benefit from the inclusive design of the TAG summer camp.
-
How many students can attend?
Your child will participate in adapted, inclusive, small group (3-4 students) and large group (5-8 students) activities. Moving together is our secret ingredient! This group level synchrony promotes engagement in the multisensory learning experiences.
-
What will my child learn?
All children will learn academic skills through a combination of individualized and group instruction, including: (1) behavioral self-regulation taught via gross motor games, (2) language taught via shared interactive book reading, (3) decoding (phonemic and phonological awareness) taught via an adapted Heggerty routine, (4) narrative story comprehension taught through sociodrammatic play, and (4) early math skills taught via table-top cooperative games.
-
Who will run the camp?
The TAG Summer Camp is staffed by trained graduate students, who are enrolled in the Midwestern University Speech-language Pathology Program. TAG Summer Camp SLP Students are supervised by two licensed and certified SLPs with more than 40 years of combined
Meet the TAG Scholars Director and TAG Lab PI
