One Last Assignment: Give Your Teachers an A+

Today is the last day of school for my kids. I have something to say to their teachers at Eastern Middle School and Richard Montgomery High School -- and to their preschool and elementary teachers and to my teachers from all those years ago.

Thank you.

Another Kind of Learning

Teachers come in all sorts. So do teachable moments. Who's to say a patch of woods in Fauquier County isn't as much of a classroom as a Harvard lecture hall?

Our annual Send a Kid to Camp fund drive is dedicated to the prospect that a week surrounded by nature can work wonders. Linda Rosen of Great Falls is one of the readers who has donated to our campaign. "I have many happy memories from my sleep-away camp in the Poconos in the early '60s," she wrote on the note accompanying her contribution. "It formed my love of nature, rivers, the Milky Way, etc. I wish this experience for every child!"

With your help, that's exactly what we'll provide: a week at Camp Moss Hollow for about 700 at-risk kids from the Washington area, a chance for them to learn things that can't be taught in books. The cost for one kid for one week is $710. Any amount is welcome.

Our goal by July 26: $475,000.

Our total so far: $45,444.29.

To make your tax-deductible donation:

Make out a check or money order payable to "Send a Kid to Camp" and mail it to P.O. Box 96237, Washington, D.C. 20090-6237.

To contribute online, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/johnkelly. Click on the icon that says "Make a Donation."

To donate by MasterCard or Visa by phone, call 202-334-5100 and follow the instructions on the taped message.