Test out possible summer program
It’s Family Fun Day Wednesday, April 26, for students and parents interested in exploring activities that would be part of a YMCA program in East Hampton that would be tacked on to Shelter Island School’s half-day summer educational program.
The Board of Education awaits word from the Town Board and Shelter Island Educational Foundation on funding of transportation for an extended summer program. But in the meantime, representatives of the YMCA East Hampton Recenter will be on the Island this Wednesday between 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Their aim is to provide a look at activities that Shelter Island students enrolled in the summer morning educational program here could have during afternoon hours.
On Wednesday, between 2:30 and 4 p.m. children will be able to participate in a Fit Kids wellness program of physical activity while learning activities that can relate to their good health. Between 4 and 6:30 p.m. activities will include an aquatic safety workshop, Minute-To-Win-It challenges, face painting, arts and crafts, a sports obstacle course, giveaways and healthy snacks.
The program will be repeated on May 17 and June 14 to give students and parents a chance to familiarize them with the program. The summer program would start on July 3 and run through July 27.
Academic Administrator Jennifer Rylott has been working with district business official Tim Laube to make the full-day program a reality this summer. It would particularly benefit working parents who could bring their children to the school in the morning and not have to pick them up until about 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon on Mondays through Thursdays.
The aim is to provide an affordable program for parents of students in kindergarten through the eighth grade and initially, 24 students would have to sign up to make it viable. Year-round residents would be eligible, but if the quota isn’t met with year-round residents, it could be opened to those who are summer residents, Ms. Rylott said.
She also speculated that there could be other contributions of money to offset fees for families who can’t afford the program.
State law prohibits using the district’s money for the transportation costs that fall outside of the 180-day school year, Mr. Laube said.
Parents would pay between $165 and $175 per week for either the regular or sports camp programs and an additional $50 per week transportation fee. That $50 per week transportation fee could be lowered if more than 24 students enroll, Ms. Rylott said.
The costs are lower than other summer programs on the Island, Ms. Rylott said.
But the balance of the estimated $13,000 cost of transportation needs to be paid by others.
The PTSA had pledged $2,000 and the Educational Foundation hasn’t yet awarded money, but Mr. Laube and Ms. Rylott said it was likely about $3,000 would come from that source. They needed another $3,000 to close the gap and that is money that town recreation director Garth Griffin was trying to find in his budget.
