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Families turn to rec centers for virtual schooling
In Northern Virginia, recreation centers are being transformed into classrooms – providing a place for students to engage in distance learning while their parents work.
SPRINGFIELD, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - In Northern Virginia, recreation centers are being transformed into classrooms – providing a place for students to engage in distance learning while their parents work.
The specially developed remote classrooms have a price tag, but they’re arriving as many school districts and families opt to continue virtual learning.
The St. James complex in Springfield started providing such a space for students this week.
It costs more than $500 a month, but includes enrichment activities and more than a dozen sports for students once they complete their virtual learning for the day.
The staff on site may not have teacher certifications, but many are coaches or substitute teachers.
Further south, in Stafford, Cavalier Family Skating is providing a similar service for about $150 a week.
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The Stafford facility is open for all school-age children. They’ve been offering the service for the last two months – and they say they have between five and 15 students.
The skating rink here has been offering this for the last two months and tell us each day they’ll have anywhere between five and fifteen students.
The facility offers hand-sanitizing stations and social-distancing stations.
By all accounts, these recreation centers are offering the service for parents who must return to work or feel overwhelmed assisting with distance learning at home.
READ MORE: Prince William County Public Schools announces aggressive in-person learning plan
Justin Holtschneider is a college student himself with no teaching experience.
The same could be true for staff at the St. James, where the management says employees overseeing the distance learning are not educators.
They are solely providing adult supervision while the rec center serves as a proxy for students to come and learn virtually from their respective teachers and schools.
In most cases, the financial commitment is month to month, and the cost range is based on the location.