Camps hustle to cover longer summer
Date Added: 16-08-2005
SHELBY — With Cleveland County Schools starting more than two weeks later than last year, day camps and childcare providers are trying to meet the needs of parents and children.
Juan Cherry, the day camp director at the Boys and Girls Club, said the club extended its program in response to the extra-long summer.
“Instead of three three-week programs, we had four three-week programs,” he said.
Cherry said he thought parents had hoped that summer camps would extend their programs to accommodate them and their children.
“For the most part, [the camps] have,” he said. “I know it’s been a help to some of our parents.”
The Boys and Girls Club’s day camp program will end Aug. 19.
Local YMCA summer camps were also extended to Aug. 19, and Artie Hubbard, senior director of family programs at Dover Foundation YMCA, said they would have “School’s Out Special,” or S.O.S., days Aug. 22-24. Hubbard said these days would be a smaller version of the day camps.
Hubbard said the number of children in YMCA day camps has not gone down, and that new children are still signing up. He said parents were ecstatic when they learned the YMCA would extend its summer programs.
“I think it took them by surprise when they found out” it would be a longer summer, he said. “Parents are thrilled that they don’t have to worry about it.”
Hubbard said they did have to adjust to some of their staff leaving, because although public schools changed their start times, colleges did not. Some groups were combined, but there were more than enough adults to supervise the children, he said.
Donna Carpenter, director of public information for Cleveland County Schools, said she had not heard many complaints from parents about this year’s longer summer vacation.
“We tried as good as we could to let people know it would be a long summer,” she said.
Mrs. Carpenter said the school system was aware parents were spending more money for daycare or day camps for their children, but that it was beyond the schools’ control because of a state law requiring that schools not open before Aug. 25.
Mrs. Carpenter said schools had taken advantage of the longer summer.
“It’s given schools more time to prepare for the school year,” she said, and to fill any open positions.
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