Having heard rumors that a move to phase 3 might occur after Spring Break and that it might just be K-2nd initially, it was a great surprise to receive the announcement from the School District that all elementary grades would be returning to in-person half days in less than a week. But if the past 12 months have taught us anything, it is how to roll with the changes and react quickly. I am proud to say that we have the new program for phase 3 designed and agreed upon in less than an hour on Tuesday.
We are absolutely delighted that our members will be receiving more in-person teaching; the novelty of zooms has worn off for everyone! And we are also excited to get back to what the Club does best, and that is fun enhancement programs that focus on art, STEM, recreation, personal growth and social and emotional learning.
So how is Club operating in phase 3?
As the schools are still not operating for full days, the Club is offering an extended day program for our members and families. We start receiving our extended day participants at 1pm and the Club will be open until 5:30pm. We will also remain open for full days for our middle and high school members.
Our mainsite (Al Tahoe) is the hub for all grades and the drop off point for the buses and pick-up point for parents. However, the City has generously extended our use of the Rec Center until May 11th and we will be going over there for recreation during the extended day.
After the Spring Break, we will be adding in a full day Wednesday program for elementary grades but due to staff and space, enrollment will be limited and priority given to members who have been with us for all phases this academic year. Qualified families have been contacted and any additional spaces will be advertised to families who were members during phase 2 only.
Below are answers to some questions we have received in the past week.
When will you be taking on new/additional members?
When the CDC lowered the recommended distance between students to 3ft, that was on the understanding that the children were seated doing school work. They have not, however, updated their regulations for youth programs where children are engaged in more diverse activities. Therefore, we are sticking to a ratio of 14 members to 1 staff as per the current CDC guidance for Youth Clubs. We have automatically enrolled all phase 2 members into phase 3 and have given parents until March 31st to opt out of phase 3. Once we know what additional spaces we have, we will advertise those on social media and BAND.
Why are you still charging for afterschool?
We are not quite back to our traditional after-school. With the short school days we are offering additional hours for the extended day program and plus we are not back to our traditional member to staff ratio. We need to keep our staff on full time to cover the extended day and Wednesdays, and still require more staff to look after fewer children. We will re-evaluate this if the school day is extended to normal hours 5 days per week, but that may not happen until phase 4, and we are still likely to have a smaller ratio then pre-COVID.
I signed up as a whole year member, does that mean my child can come to Club now?
Unfortunately not. We are still not back to normal operations and our membership is limited due to social distancing. If you did not attend at all since we reopened in June 2020, and you paid or put a deposit down for the whole year membership, that money can either be applied as an evergreen credit (never runs out) or you can request a refund from [email protected]
When will you enroll for summer?
We have delayed enrollment until May in the hope of having updated guidance for summer camps from the CDC. Please note that we do expect to still have limited enrollment and social distancing in the summer. There is light at the end of the tunnel but it will still be some time before all restrictions are lifted. Enrollment will be advertised on our social media platforms and via BAND. Please sign up for at least one to ensure you are the first to know! Priority will be given to members who have been with us for the whole year.
Any additional questions can be emailed to [email protected] or you can call the Club between 9:30 and 5:30 on 530 542 0838.
