NL programs work to provide space

City students with working parents need to find areas to do distance learning

New London — With New London Public Schools reopening Thursday under a hybrid model, in which students are only in school two days a week, many working parents are still figuring out: Where can my kids do their distance learning on the other three days?

Compared to parents in wealthier communities, many New London parents don't have the financial resources to form a private “learning pod” or pay for extra day care.

New London Recreation, the DropIn Learning Center and B.P. Learned are meeting some of the need by offering day programs. They're collectively able to serve about 119 students at the moment, but they and other education advocates recognize there's a much greater need.

The hurdles are lack of funding and lack of space, especially given social distancing.

The education subcommittee of New London's Long-Term Recovery Committee is working to fill this urgent gap. Mirna Martinez is chairing the subcommittee, one of seven, and explained that her group's role is to identify areas of need and bring recommendations to the committee as a whole, so the committee can de

“I’m very concerned about people who are going to be left behind.” PEGGY SHEEHAN-FLOOD, MEMBER OF THE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE OF NEW LONDON’S LONG-TERM RECOVERY COMMITTEE AND PART-TIME TEACHER AT MITCHELL COLLEGE

cide how to prioritize community resources.

She said the subcommittee decided to concentrate on two areas: how systemic racism manifests in a crisis, and where students can do distance learning. This is particularly salient in a community where 82% of students receive free or reduced lunch and 82% of students are students of color, she noted.

“I’m very concerned about people who are going to be left behind,” said Peggy Sheehan-Flood, an education subcommittee member who teaches part time at Mitchell College.

Josh Brown, a New London teacher who is on the subcommittee, said the families of about 1,300 students in kindergarten through fifth grade have chosen the hybrid model for their children. But it’s unclear how many are in need of child care, and Martinez noted this isn’t to say that a sixth grader should be able to stay home alone.

Brown said the biggest things students need are stable internet and tutors, while Martinez also pointed to the need for child care, and hopes that “a good amount of these pods can take place in outdoor places.”

She said the committee is working on a grant proposal and getting funding. For now, those interested in donating money or space can contact her at (917) 686-1098.

“Obviously if we’re able to get more funding, it means space, it means transportation,” she said. She thinks learning hubs could be staffed through both paid positions and volunteers. The education subcommittee also would like to hire a coordinator to serve as a liaison among the existing patchwork of programs and identify additional locations.

Martinez also noted that if the subcommittee gets funding, it could offer money to an organization that is already providing a distance learning program but would need an additional staff member to expand.

Committee member Tasha Hosendove is seeing these issues through her perspective as a paraprofessional at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School and a single mother of a 10-year-old.

The district gave her the option of sending her son to in-person classes four days a week, she said, but she wasn’t comfortable with that. She said Monday she thinks she will send her son to a friend with kids for remote learning but wasn’t sure.

Programs shift gears to meet need

The New London Recreation Department last week announced its Hybrid School Support Care Program for parents working full time. For $60 a week, a child in first through seventh grades can go to Ocean Beach Park from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Wednesday or Wednesday-Friday.

The program starts Monday, and staff will “oversee remote learning, assist with schoolwork help and oversee break and play times.”

Sharon Bousquet, assistant director of recreation, said she heard the ballroom at Ocean Beach Park wasn’t being used for its usual large events because of the coronavirus, so the department reached out and manager Dave Sugrue was “more than willing to support the city.”

Bousquet said Tuesday the program can take 60 students total and there were still spots available. She said the department is looking at other spaces, should the need exceed 60, and is working on getting grants for scholarships. Interested donors can call (860) 447-5230.

She said the program will run as long as the hybrid model is in place.

On days students are doing remote learning, the Drop-In Learning Center is providing services from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $20 a day, or $30 for an extended day, Executive Director Reona Dyess said. The center is taking a maximum of 15 kids in each of two groups.

The center is taking a waiting list, since some parents are still on the fence. Dyess said the center isn’t providing its preschool program this year, because the need is greater for school-aged children.

B.P. Learned is serving 13 kids Monday-Tuesday and 16 kids Thursday-Friday, with deep-cleaning happening Wednesday, site manager Tim Allen said. The kids will get support from three staff members as they do their virtual learning.

Allen said these are all kids already on the B.P. Learned roster, and fees are based on income. B.P. Learned is only using two of its three classrooms, since it doesn’t have enough staffing for the third room.

Hosendove also pointed to the efforts of Denise Boyd, whom she knows from their involvement in FRESH New London and Step Up New London.

Boyd is working on setting up tents in her yard on Connecticut Avenue to provide an outdoor place for students to do distance learning for free, she said. She hopes to be in operation by the end of the month and able to serve six to eight kids at a time.

Boyd said she was inspired to do this from seeing her grandchildren struggling in Bridgeport and because she wants to make sure New London students don’t fall behind like they did in March. She is finding parents in need through word of mouth and plans to start off serving kids in her neighborhood.