GREENFIELD — Javi and Camila Mena are siblings. Javi, 8, loves basketball, and Camila, 6, said she wouldn't mind being an actress.
But before their rise to stardom, they have to beat elementary school first. It goes without saying, but school is different this year for kids and parents.
Javi and Camila are in a district that has opted for to go completely virtual. However, they can't stay at home because their mom has to work. That's where the YMCA stepped in with the solution.
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It's called Y Class.
"We're making sure that they're getting onto their classes, okay. Making sure that they are where they are supposed to be on time, but then making sure that they also have those breaks. That they're eating. That they're having fun and that social interaction with other people," Brittany Fowler, the Camp and School Age Director at the YMCA in Greenfield said.
Since not all parents can stay home while their kids are remote learning the YMCA in Greenfield and Menomonee Falls are accepting anyone who wants to drop their kids off for the day.
— James Groh (@JamesGroh_) September 9, 2020
They get personalized tutoring, benefits of learning among peers, and safety of small groups. pic.twitter.com/RHKMq64s8y
At two YMCA locations in southeastern Wisconsin, Greenfield and Menomonee Falls, parents can drop their kids off to give their students a quasi-classroom experience. They study and learn together in small clusters but are spaced out at least six feet. It's a coronavirus compromise, if you will.
"We also can help if you have hybrid learning, so if you need only a couple days a week you want to send them to the Y the other couple days were more than happy to help you with that as well,” Fowler said.
It costs $50 a day or $200 for the week.
Students sit at a desk with their own materials and go about virtual learning much as they would at home. However, one benefit of the Y Class is students have access to one-on-one help.
So even though school is much different from what it was like last year, there is a hint of normalcy at the YMCA for those whose schools opted for virtual or hybrid learning.