YMCA will offer programs at each elementary, middle school

Published 11:23 am Wednesday, July 22, 2020

For the upcoming school year, the Stanly County Family YMCA will offer after-school programs at every elementary and middle school.

The elementary after-school programs will be for only kindergarten through fourth-grade students, since students in fifth grade will be at the middle schools. Last year, the YMCA had after-school programs at only six of the county’s elementary schools.

The YMCA will offer after-school programs for students during in-person instruction at the four middle schools. It is also exploring options for a full-day program (roughly 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) for middle school students, including those in fifth grade, during weeks when they will be learning remotely.

With the day program, the YMCA is looking into ways to incorporate not just the necessary academic time for students, but physical fitness, socialization and enrichment time as well.

“The YMCA is working to support families during this time and it is working to be as fluid as possible to meet the demands,” said Kelley Bigger, family services director at the YMCA.

Bigger said the YMCA is also looking for a location for a program in the western part of the county for students operating remotely.

Registration for the after-school programs at the elementary schools for both YMCA members and non-members is open and Bigger encourages people to register as soon as possible because capacity will be limited. Registration for the middle school programs will open on Monday.

“The YMCA is committed to helping this community,” said CEO George Crooker. “We are much more than a gymnasium and we’re going to do what it takes to help the children and families of this county survive through this pandemic.”

 

 

 

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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