A safe and enriching place for remote learning

The YMCA's Virtual Learning Center program will offer students a safe and fun place to participate in virtual learning, while meeting the urgent need for emergency child care during the school day for working parents. Participants in the YMCA Virtual Learning Center at Walker Upper Elementary School must be enrolled in remote learning through Charlottesville City Schools.

Locations

Our second Virtual Learning Center location at Walker Upper Elementary School is serving Charlottesville City Schools students only. For information about our Brooks Virtual Learning Center location, click here.

We are now hiring for Virtual Learning Center positions!

Overview

Grades K - 5
7:30 am - 5:30 pm, Monday - Friday
Sliding scale pricing, scholarships available
Limited space available

The safety of both students and staff is of the utmost important to us. Safety measures in place will include a mask requirement for both students and staff, consistent pods of 10-12 students with care taken to prevent cross-contamination, frequent sanitizing, and time outside whenever possible. Our spaces comply with state and local guidelines for safety and social distancing.

When online school/ remote learning is completed, students will have time for homework or structured, age-appropriate enrichment activities.

Wi-Fi will be provided to support video chats, streaming media and other online school demands.

Each student should bring:

remote learning device (school-issued Chromebook, laptop)
headphones
appropriate school supplies
a mask (masks are required for both children and adults)

To the best of your ability, please make sure your student knows how to log in to their school’s website and learning platforms and how to operate their devices and software. Students should dress comfortably.

Walker Upper Elementary School Specifics

There are several program details specific to the Walker location:

School breakfast and lunch: At Walker, students will have the option of receiving school breakfast and lunch.
- Breakfast, lunch, and snack will be provided FREE for students who qualify for free/reduced lunch.
- For others, breakfast will be available for $1.50, lunch for $2.50, and snack will be free.
Cleaning and disinfecting: YMCA staff will sanitize hourly during the day and deep cleaning will be carried out nightly by school district staff.
Ventilation: The ventilation system at Walker does not share air between classrooms. The system pulls in 100% outside air to each individual classroom, and this air is filtered on its way to the classroom. Each classroom's air is also returned to the outdoors without passing through any other classroom. There are console units which recirculate air within each classroom for heating and cooling purposes, and this air is filtered each time it recirculates.
Capacity: Though the risk of indoor education is not zero, due to our capacity restriction, fewer children will attend this program than would likely have returned to the Walker building under any of the proposed in-person schooling plans. The YMCA program's capacity at Walker is 160 children compared to the 700 children who would normally be at Walker in a school day (23%). This is one reason we believe that the potential risk to students, staff, and community of this program is lower than a return to in-person school would likely have been.

We are thankful to be able to partner with CCS to provide this urgently necessary child care to working parents while virtual school is in session during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weekly Fees

An enrollment fee of $50 will be due before the program begins. No fee is due at the time of registration.

We have recently adjusted our sliding scale to make the program more affordable. Pricing is the same across both locations.

Gross Household Income	YMCA Scholarship	Weekly Price First Child	Weekly Price Additional Children
$30,000 or less		*	*
$30,001 - $55,000	50%	$100	$90
$55,001 - $75,000	25%	$150	$135
$75,001 or more		$200	$180

*Please contact your local Department of Social Services to apply for subsidized child care opportunities.

Note: Income in all categories (except $90,001 or more) must be verified by providing a copy of your most recent tax return and documentation of all sources of income. Examples include: unemployment, SNAP, TANF, Social Security, disability, spousal/child support, etc.

Registration

Registration is now closed at the Walker YMCA Virtual Learning Center. If you have already registered online at Walker and need to complete registration, you may do so using these forms:

2. Download and complete the registration forms, including a copy of the child's birth certificate and other required attachments:

3. Return the completed forms either in person at the Brooks YMCA or by scanning and emailing the forms to us at youthandfamily@piedmontymca.org. All required forms must be submitted prior to your child attending the program.

Questions?

Contact our team at youthandfamily@piedmontymca.org.