NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) – With students in New Haven continuing their online education for another month, New Haven is setting up sites where they can not only get their work done, but have some supervision during the day.
These sites are being called Community Learning Hubs. They will be staffed and have WIFI so students can log into their virtual classrooms.
A handful of community partners have already opened up these hubs and now the city is launching a number of them as well. This is needed, especially for those working parents.
It’s also needed because some students just aren’t logging on for class.
Working with the Youth and Recreation Department, New Haven will start out with five of these learning hugs, housed in buildings at a number of city parks.
The plan is to eventually add four more hubs at its library branches.
There is going to be masks, social distancing, and plenty of signs to remind everyone to spread out.
Each location will have three staff members and up to 20 students from first to ninth grades to help the kids log on into their classroom and also to provide a little recreation once the work is done.
This is free for city residents, but space is limited, so the city is going to be prioritizing families in need and the need is great.
While New Haven has nearly 21,000 students, roughly 1,500 students haven’t logged on or participated in virtual learning so far this year, which is around 7 percent.
“Our goal is to make sure the kids have access to education and a lot of families, with working parents, kids don’t necessarily have the support they need at home,” said Mayor Justin Elicker.
While New Haven students are set to head back into the classroom in November for the second marking period, these hubs will still be needed.
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