Parents feeling overwhelmed by children’s online learning while trying to get their own work done have a new option being offered by St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care.
Schoolchildren ages 5 to 12 can experience a safe, consistent learning environment at the center, which has two locations in Milwaukee – the Stein Campus, 2801 E. Morgan Ave., and Bucyrus Campus, 2450 W. North Ave. Parents have several options to choose from – a full day, a half-day or the after-school program – for one to five days a week. Financial assistance with enrollment is available.
“I honestly don’t know what we would have done if St. Ann Center didn’t have the option of our child doing virtual learning here,” said Monica Yarn, who enrolled her second-grader at the Bucyrus Campus. “We’re both working parents, so one of us would have had to quit our job to be home with him. I know other parents are facing the same situation.”
Students bring their own Chromebook or laptop along with chargers and headphones, login information, books and materials, and class schedules. The center will provide access to Wi-Fi as needed. St. Ann Center staff will not teach, but will provide general support and supervision to keep children on task.
The center will serve breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack, depending on the student’s schedule. Children will have time outside each day, weather permitting.
Flexibility is key, noted Sr. Lucy Marindany, Vice President of Child Care Services, adding that some parents are choosing to oversee their child’s virtual learning in the morning at home, then sending the child for programming and small-group socialization in the afternoon.
St. Ann Center’s award-winning childcare program has earned four stars from YoungStar, Wisconsin’s childcare quality rating system. Early childhood education is available for children ages six weeks to school age; older children can take part in a before- and after-school program and summer day camp.
For more information on virtual learning support and other childcare openings, call the Stein Campus at (414) 977-5041 or the Bucyrus Campus at (414) 210-2468.