VENTURA COUNTY — Southeast Ventura County YMCA is taking registrations for the Y’s KEY Academy to coincide with school openings in August. The KEY Academy is designed to enable parents to meet work demands while provide their children with a safe, structured environment for learning.
Parents can drop off their children at one of the three Y branches’ designated education centers. You can contact your local Y: the Conejo Valley YMCA in Thousand Oaks, the Simi Valley YMCA in Simi Valley, and the Yarrow Family YMCA in Westlake Village for more details.
“Children will participate in their online classes and assignments while at the Y. YMCA licensed child care staff will support them throughout the ‘school day’ to enhance the virtual learning experience and to provide fun, enrichment activities to help with their social emotional needs,” says Mac Hahn, Southeast Ventura County YMCA’s Vice President of Youth Development.
The KEY Academy is offering a part-time (mornings or afternoons) and full-time program. Full-time Academy participants will also receive themed, standards-based lessons that meet the requirements for additional instructional minutes under the guidance of a credentialed teacher. “The programs will adapt as school district instruction changes,” says Hahn.
The Key Academy is for students in elementary school (kindergarten through fifth grade) in the Conejo Valley, Las Virgenes, Moorpark, Oak Park and Simi Valley school districts with a TK program coming soon. Students will be placed in small groups based on their grade level. They will need to bring their own computers and headphones labeled with their names.
The Southeast Ventura County YMCA is currently hosting hundreds of local school-age children in its summer camps at its three branches. The stringent health and safety measures used during summer camp will be applied to the KEY Academy. “We’re very proud of the way our campers, parents, and staff have been adhering to CDC guidelines,” says Hahn. “We’ve found that kids quickly adapt to new expected behavior if it is taught in the right way. As of right now, third graders and up will wear masks at the Academy. We will continue to monitor both state and local guidelines and update parents accordingly.”
The Yarrow and Simi Valley YMCA KEY Academies are starting August 17.. The Conejo Valley YMCA program begins August 24.
Space is limited. For more information and to register online, go to https://www.sevymca.org and click on the KEY Academy icon. If parents have questions, they can call 818-396-8331 or email koberman@sevymca.org (Conejo Valley YMCA), jgonzalez@sevymca.org (Simi Valley Family YMCA) or mtisler@sevymca.org (Yarrow Family YMCA). KEY Academy scholarship applications are on the Y website.
Southeast Ventura County YMCA — As part of the community since 1964, the Southeast Ventura County YMCA is a nonprofit charitable organization. Its mission is to build relationships, impact lives and strengthen the community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The three Southeast Ventura County YMCA branches are Yarrow Family YMCA (serving Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Oak Park) Conejo Valley YMCA (serving Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Moorpark and the Santa Rosa Valley) and Simi Valley Family YMCA (serving Simi Valley). The branches served over 20,500 residents last year including more than 7,000 who were able to participate because of money raised during the annual support campaign. https://www.sevymca.org