YMCA Kidstop program increases due to schools early release - KOTA Territory News

YMCA Kidstop program increases due to schools early release

September 12th was the first day of a district wide early school release program. Every Wednesday students will be released about an hour early so teachers can plan and evaluate their lesson plans.

This early release can put a strain on parents, so other organizations within the community are stepping up to help.

It's been around since 1989, but because of the new early release on Wednesdays the YMCA Kidstop Program has increased by about 20 %.

"Parents rely heavily on these programs," said Executive Director Roger Gallimore. "For parents this provides a great deal of peace of mind but again its more than just somebody taking care of the kids it's a time also of personal growth, character grown, [and] social growth," said Gallimore.

The Kidstop program goes to different schools throughout the community to provide after school aid, but not all students are a part of Kidstop. Some have to walk or ride their bikes home.

For Grandmother Mary Hix, it's her turn to pick up the kids, "Well if the kids are learning and it helps them learn I guess I'll put up with the hassle of doing it," said Hix.

The whole point of the early release is to help kids learn and to help teachers teach. Valley View Elementary School has been releasing early on Wednesdays for about nine years now, "We originally started the early release Wednesday a number of years ago to focus on developing the capacity of our teachers," said Principal Wayne Rosby.

He says there was some concern from parents at first, but support has grown. "It's gotten to be a very positive thing in our surveys over the years it's been 70-80% really like the schedule," said Rosby.

Terrilyn Vifquain is one of those supportive parents. "It's nice for them, they get a little break we can kind of plan some other things to do in that afternoon or involve them in an activity," said Vifquain referring to her children.

So even though the early release may add a little stress on some parents, there are programs in the community to try and help.