MASHPEE – The Boys and Girls Club of Cape Cod has announced that it will be working with the Mashpee Recreation Department to help provide childcare for the community.
As the school year begins, the Boys and Girls Club will rent a portion of the club to the Mashpee Recreation Department during the day to provide a school day program for remote learners.
Mashpee Director of Recreation Mary Bradbury said that as hybrid learning approaches for the district, this is a much-needed resource.
“For our parents and our families who don’t have any access to care and aren’t comfortable with leaving their child home for a whole day unsupervised, this provides that resource for these families. We’ll be offering their off-week supervised remote learning for the school hours,” said Bradbury.
Hybrid learning for the district means one week where students learn in the classroom and then the week after learn remotely from home, then repeating.
Bradbury said that the program will follow the school’s schedule in terms of holidays and closures.
Children will be organized into socially distanced cohorts and all recommended COVID-19 guidelines and protocols will be followed, said Bradbury.
“We work collaboratively with Boys and Girls Club to keep our students safe and keep our staff safe,” said Bradbury.
Ruth Provost, Chief Executive Officer for the Boys and Girls Club, said that the collaboration mutually benefits both organizations.
“It’s a win-win for both the Recreation Department and the Boys and Girls Club,” said Provost.
“We are funded just through grants and donations, we’re not government funded. So for us having an income stream, any income stream frankly at this point, is hugely important to our success in keeping those doors open.”
The Boys and Girls Club will run a socially distanced Before and After School program in the same vein as the summer camp program they ran in July and August.
The Before School program will run from 7:30 am to 9 am and the After School program from 3:30 to 6 pm.
The program will have a weekly fee, with limited financial aid available for those with proof of need.
According to the Boys and Girls Club, Children will need to sign up by the week and will be served in groups of ten, with a maximum of 50 children served weekly.
Masks will be required.
The Boys and Girls Club Teen Program will be held virtually in the afternoon and in person at the Boys and Girls Clubhouse in the evening during the week.
The Boys and Girls Club Education Director will be available online to assist remote learners with homework and tutoring as needed Monday through Thursday.
The Club will host a socially distanced open house on September 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 to register members for the school year.
Those interested in the remote learning program run can contact the Mashpee Recreation Department.
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