Summer Sights and Sounds Summer Camp: A Center for Joy and Belonging among Creative Students in SDUSD
This summer marked the sixth year of Summer Sights and Sounds (SSS) at Wilson Middle School—and our biggest year yet.
From just 50 students in it’s first year, to over 250 participating in 2026, Summer Sights and Sounds has grown tremendously. This summer showed us that expanding a program isn’t just about reaching more students. It’s about creating a safe, supportive, and diverse arts education experience that has something for every student’s interests. One of the things that makes Summer Sights and Sounds unique is its “Major” and “Minor” structure. Students choose an in-depth Major in an area such as music, theatre, dance, or visual art, while Minor electives give them opportunities to explore other disciplines and styles.
This year, we expanded our offerings in Visual Art, Dance, and Theatre while adding new specialty classes including Theatre Improv, Music Writing and Composition, Ballet Folklorico, Stretch and Acrobatics, Tap Dance, Salsa Dance, and Ceramics. Classes are taught by a group of fantastic SDUSD teachers and teaching artists from The Old Globe, Art Reach SD, and T3 Triple Threat.
Finally, our last big achievement this year was trying out the new Summer Sights and Sounds Festival format! Held on the last day of camp, student performances take place throughout a whole afternoon across multiple stages and spaces around the Wilson campus. With many students performing in two or three different productions, this event was a big celebration for families. It was an honor to be able to gather the community to celebrate everything the students had created and learned throughout the summer!
While Summer Sights and Sounds continues to grow and add more different kinds of arts instruction, the heart of the program remains the same: creating a safe, supportive place where young people can make art, try something new, build confidence, and find their people.
