SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Parents across the country are struggling to figure out where to send their kids to complete their virtual classes. Educators fear that students are missing out on social interaction and the help they normally receive while physically in class. A local non-profit seeks to alleviate some of that stress by hosting the Learning Lab.
“There was an overwhelming need for places to send their kids to go when they didn’t have in-school, in-person learning during the school year,” said Marguerite Mitchell, Director of Education at Redhouse.
What is their solution? To create the learning lab, a daily place for local schoolchildren to complete their coursework while their parents are at their jobs. While designing the lab, the safety of the attendees was Redhouse’s first priority.
“We have separate spaces set up so that when a child comes to the learning lab, their desk is their desk for the duration of the learning lab,” Mitchell said. “There is no sharing desks, there is no sharing of tables where they eat their lunch.”
Worries about safety made a lot of parents cautious to send their children to the class, especially considering the normal schools have closed. Though it may have been a tough sell at first, most parents are very grateful for the lab.
“Redhouse has exceeded my expectations for how they help students,” said Teller, parent of a Learning Lab student. “[It] has really added to the quality of our work/life balance.”
Administrators said the learning lab will be open for the foreseeable future, and they are still accepting enrollment.
