YMCA offers school like program for kids

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - All Rapid City Area Schools moved to level three, online learning, today.

The YMCA says they’ve been preparing for this and have a childcare program for school-age students. Kids are provided with a structured space to complete their online learning. The day looks almost like a normal school day starting with breakfast, lunch, schoolwork, and some supplemental activities to keep kids engaged.

The YMCA’s executive director said they served about 200 students with this program today but doesn’t know exactly what that number will look like tomorrow or even next week.

”The best answer that I could give is the same answer we’ve been giving all year, I don’t know. But the best thing we can do though is to just be prepared for it and continue to prepare,” said Roger Gallimore, the YMCA executive director. “That means continue to recruit and train staff and be ready, make sure we’ve got facilities lined up so this is just a constant effort.”

The YMCA has also worked with Love Inc. and churches throughout the community to create learning extension centers for other families to use while e-learning.