The upcoming school year is right around the corner and the City of Turlock has parents and guardians covered when it comes to an after school program for their children.
The City is offering the Positive Leisure Activities for Youth program, or P.L.A.Y., as an after school option that will be available for students at six different school sites during the school week. The program will work very closely with the school district, which will give students the opportunity to meet with teachers in the afternoon to get the additional help they might need, as well as provide them with wholesome and fun activities.
“It provides students with the opportunity to work on and get assistance with their homework,” said Karen Packwood, recreation senior supervisor with the City. “Kids are also given the outdoor opportunity to participate in organized activities and crafts.”
One of the many benefits of the P.L.A.Y. program are the locations. Students do not have to leave school campus to participate, since the P.L.A.Y. sites are on campus. The program is available at Dennis Earl, Denair, Julien, Sandra Medeiros, Walnut, and Osborn schools for students who are enrolled in transitional kindergarten through sixth grade.
“It is a great opportunity for parents to register their kids in this program, because they will know that their children are in a safe, supervised location,” Packwood said.
The City urges parents and guardians to sign up as soon as possible to ensure adequate staffing numbers and the availability of programs. Applicants who do not meet the deadline will have to wait until the week of Aug. 25 to participate.
“We need people to register in a timely manner so we can prepare things on our end,” Packwood added. “It takes us a while to get all the registration binders together for every school site and make sure that we have adequate staffing in place.”
In addition, the City still has a few openings available for their After School Education and Safety program, or ASES. A grant based program, ASES is available for those in grades firth through eighth who are in need of additional types of service. ASES locations include Brown, Crowell, Cunningham, Osborn, Turlock Junior High, and Wakefield schools. Parents and guardians who are interested are encouraged to call first since there are only a limited number of spaces available.
The P.L.A.Y. and A.S.E.S. programs will run from the time that school lets out to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. For parents and guardians who want access to the P.L.A.Y. program during the first week of school, the deadline is Aug. 8. To sign up, visit the City of Turlock’s website at www.ci.turlock.ca.us or their office at 144 S. Broadway St.
