Waltham Boys And Girls Club Creates Space For Online School

WALTHAM — Things are looking different at the Boys and Girls Club of Waltham than they did before the pandemic. Before: On a given school day young people didn't show up at the youth community center until after school, around 2 p.m to 8 p.m. But these days, students show up at 7 a.m. and are there until 4 p.m., depending on their school schedules.

That's because of a program the club raced to put on this year as staff realized there was a major need for families without internet or without a parent at home during the school day.

The club, in conjunction with the state and local school district, developed an in-person academic support program that has staff help students connect with their teachers virtually, works with them on independent learning efforts, provides social and emotional and physical activity breaks. The club also provides breakfast, lunch, snacks, and a take-home dinner.

They developed a program based on findings from a community assessment that included a parent and teen survey and several meetings with the Waltham Public Schools Administration. The governor, superintendents commission, Early Childhood Education and Care, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education gave the thumbs up on the model. A playbook of operations including minimum health and safety guidelines was released for use across the state by Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs and other out-of-school-time providers.

In August, the Waltham Lions Club reached out to see if they needed help with anything.

The club needed help reconfiguring furniture so that it could put students in for remote learning, but it also needed to figure out a way to make barriers to make space functional and safe.

The club had an idea of what kind of barriers they wanted, but the Waltham Lions Club volunteers showed up and helped build 50 barriers to place between desks.

"It was a great partnership between Waltham Lions, residents of Waltham and Scott Robillard Plumbing, Lighthouse Productions," who helped supply a lot of the material, Lions President Liz Pulice told Patch.

"They got all the supplies, put everything together and it was awesome," Waltham Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Erica Young said.

Students all have to practice distancing, wearing masks and are required to wash their hands or disinfect frequently and the club has a log for contract tracing, she said.

"It's going really really well," Young said a month into the programming. "It's definitely different, it's definitely weird, but it's good as it possibly can be."

Young said the students who are in third through 12th grade, are all being respectful and following the COVID-19 protocols.

"It's our new world that we're living in," said Young.

The club is sill accepting enrollments for students who are enrolled for the fully online school and are in grades 3 - 12.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .