Here’s the latest from your colleagues around North America, from just-held LERN Leader meetings.
Recreation Departments
Summer camps are opening fully for in-person. Registrations are at, or above, pre-pandemic levels for many. Parents want their kids to attend in-person camps. Very few or no virtual camps are being held. Waiting lists are sprouting up for limited social distancing activities, like tennis. About the summer session, “It’s been more successful than anticipated,” reports Jill Korsok of Pepper Pike, Ohio. Some seniors are reluctant to go back to senior centers, but less reluctant to go to other facilities, says Joseph Petrella of Chandler, Arizona.
Public Schools Community Education
Summer registrations are back, ahead of two summers ago. Half day youth camps are a hit. Not back yet is child care. Rooms are exceeding capacity, so wait lists are starting. Online continues to be popular. “Some adults don’t want to come back yet,” reports Lisa Rucinski of Newton, Massachusetts. “Summer registrations are looking good compared to three years ago,” adds Jenny Bodurka of Minnetonka, Minnesota.
University Continuing Education
The picture is mixed in terms of virtual vs. in-person classes, as university continuing educators are looking past summer to the big fall session. Online will definitely continue for a number of professional development programs that have been hot online, reports Sunshine Barber of the University of Texas at Austin, Texas. While the campus will return to in-person classes, continuing education will remain all online because it has worked so well and been so successful online, says Paula Hogard of Framingham State University in Framingham, Massachusetts. In-person will start back up in June, reports Chad Holbrook of Weber State University in Orem, Utah, and a new issue of c.e. staff working from home, office and/or shared office is emerging, he says.
Community College Continuing Education
While the return to campus is ‘on,’ many classes are doing well online and will continue to be offered online. Kids’ College for summer is back in person. “Almost full,” says Gary Girard of Metropolitan College, Omaha, Nebraska, adding that ten is now full as compared to 20 previously because of social distancing. Diane Peart of Broward Community College in Ft. Lauderdale is also seeing high Kids’ College numbers, remarking that “Parents just want to drop Johnny off.” Scott Cashman of Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, is reporting that LERN’s UGotClass registratins are “way up,” and Kendall Harris of Santa Barbara Community College says that there is also a return to camps. Almost all are reporting some or many online classes for fall in addition to in-person classes. And Elaine Chapman of Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California, says “We’re morphing” back into working from the office.
