With just more than a month remaining before Lawrence County’s children embark on a new school year, some of our youth can have the opportunity to go off to college, at least for a week.

The annual Ohio University Southern Academy of Excellence will again take place this year at both the Ironton and Proctorville campuses from July 20-24.

This program is important for our young people because they have the ability to learn subjects outside their normal classroom curriculum.

In some cases, while children are out of school for the summer, it may be difficult for kids to get into a learning mode. However, this weeklong course that the child chooses can allow them to learn about something they have interest in.

Several choices are available including courses like computer technology, junior culinary, science, sports, arts and fitness.

Another aspect of the camp is it truly provides an early outlook on what the college experience is like. This can potentially offer those children the ability to see what path they may want to take after high school.

These courses provide a safe learning environment during the summer along with the ability to continue to learn in a non-traditional way for our county’s young people.