Press Release: Project MOST Needs Additional Learning Site to Accommodate After School and Full-Day Remote Learning Support Program

Springs School is unable to welcome after school programs nor its full student body on its campus leaving Project MOST to fulfill an unmet need at its Community Learning Center at limited capacity, in addition to launching full-day Remote Learning Support for cohort students. Transportation accommodations not confirmed.

East Hampton, New York (Aug. 4, 2020) –– In dire response to provide after school enrichment to Springs families as Springs School is unable to accommodate Project MOST on its campus at this time, Project MOST will host its SACC-licensed weekday after school program at its Community Learning Center at Neighborhood House located at 92 Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton. Springs families will also have the option to register their children for Remote Learning Support, a new full-day program with supervision of remote learning, as well as enrichment activities in the areas of S.T.E.M., Arts and Culture, and Health and Wellness––a solution for Springs School Kindergarten-Grade 8 students who will begin a two-day school week this fall.

“As Springs School is stretched to capacity and has divided students into cohorts, Project MOST is stepping up to fill the need in the community.  This allows children to be successful in a focused learning environment and gives parents the opportunity to return to work,” said Rebecca Morgan Taylor, Project MOST’s Executive Director.

For the past nine weeks, Project MOST has successfully operated its summer learning program at Neighborhood House, strictly adhering to Covid-19 prevention guidelines set by the C.D.C., the N.Y.S. Department of Health, and the Office of Children and Family Services, which is the licensing agency to Project MOST. Under these guidelines, Neighborhood House can safely admit 40 students at any given time and Project MOST typically serves 150 families in the Springs School District. The result of meeting the needs of Springs families is both a critical need for transportation to the Neighborhood House from Springs School following the school day and space to accommodate all of the students who could benefit from daily supervised learning. The move away from Springs School to an independently located after school program allows Project MOST to eventually open after school enrichment activities to other area districts in the Town of East Hampton.

Expanding to full-day supervision is not without impact on the education non-profit’s resources, including meeting additional staffing demands, providing increased financial assistance, supplying staff and students with PPE as required by the State, providing a safe public transportation option to access after school programs no longer held on school grounds, and seeking out additional learning sites to accommodate every family who relies on Project MOST.

Safety procedures for Project MOST’s summer learning program which opened at Neighborhood House in late June have included daily temperature and blood oxygen level readings, screening questions for children and family members, small groups comprised of 10 children and two staff members, and enhanced cleaning and disinfection.

“We are dutifully prepared to offer students our range of engaging programs in a safe and attentive atmosphere in our 3,000 square feet of brightly lit space, with an onsite kitchen and organic garden at our Community Learning Center, but that only serves a fraction of parents that rely on the school day and our state-subsidized after school program to secure economic livelihood for their families. To serve more families, we need more space,” added Taylor.

Project MOST’s role as an after school and supervised remote learning program can be a momentous partner to area schools with the capacity to focus on the needs of individual learners at their own pace, increase learning time, foster wide-ranging interests, provide homework help or professional mentorship, and keep students engaged in elective studies such as music and art classes. It is important for families too––studies show that 83 percent of parents with children in after school programs agree that these programs help working parents keep their jobs. Conversations with Springs School about providing transportation to after school programs for its students are still ongoing and not without repercussions for working families who rely on full-day supervision for their children.

“For the past two years, Project MOST has been actively seeking a permanent home and we feel very fortunate that we can use our rental of the Neighborhood House for good. Capacity there limits us as we strive to, at minimum, meet the needs of Springs families, but hope to serve the entirety of East Hampton Town eventually and find a home of our own,” added Martha Stotzky, Education Director at Project MOST.

To support Project MOST and their back-to-school initiatives, visit projectmost.org/donate. For your information, the weekday after school program for elementary students at John M. Marshall Elementary School has not been impacted.

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