COLUMBUS, Ind. — Foundation for Youth is stepping up to provide eLearning support to families whose children may need some guidance and help as schools move through different instructional models amid the pandemic.
Students who attend FFY programming may stop in during eLearning, where staff provide help and supervision as kids navigate online learning during the school day, said FFY Executive Director Chuck Kime.
“I’m unbelievably blown away by our staff that show up there,” he said. “Every day and all day long, they’re wearing a mask and trying to keep kids focused in front of a computer screen. … They’re stepping up and putting themselves out in the world, in a time when maybe that’s not the wisest choice, and trying to be there for each other.”
FFY began offering eLearning support in the 2020 fall semester and, in general, is working to provide support for kids whenever “school’s unavailable to them,” he said. As more schools return to in-person learning, this support will likely be needed less often and FFY will focus more on its afterschool programming. However, some families are still utilizing the support, he said.
While elementary schools in the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. have returned to in-person learning, secondary schools are using a hybrid model, which means that sixth to 12th graders do eLearning three days a week and attend school in-person the other two. Virtual options are still in place at both levels.
COVID-19 pandemic protocols are being followed at FFY. For instance, students are typically kept in pods by school, regardless of grade, to minimize mingling with kids from other schools. He said that FFY is also practicing social distancing and has somewhat limited capacity at its Hope Avenue facility.
“On a normal, let’s say, summer day, we could have 200, even 240 kids in that building in and out throughout the day,” Kime said. “Today we’re capped at around 80 to make sure that we can stay safe and serve appropriately.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
