“It’s very exciting,” said Skoglund, the Pool Coordinator for Centennial School District. “I’m looking at our spring session right now. We’re doing well. Participation is right where we’d expect it to be, and it’s really exciting.”
She said families should be able to sign up for swimming lessons among the many offerings the pool will have this summer. She even said there’s chances to add programs that swimmers may have otherwise enjoyed at the now-closed Lino Lakes YMCA across town.
“You never know, as (COVID-19 restrictions) keep evolving and changing, we might be able to keep adding additional things such as open swim and lap swim and more adult things also,” she said.
COVID-19 restrictions meant a lot of the normal Community Education programs that Centennial Schools could offer in 2020 were virtual or non-existent.
“We are producing a summer brochure, which is the first brochure we’ve had in a year,” said Community Ed Director Cori Sendle. “The model and protocols have been changing so fast that putting something in print hasn’t been effective, so we’re excited to have a print brochure that’s going to families.”
It will also detail Kids Club availability. Last year, the the child care opportunities were at first only open to Tier 1 essential workers’ families. Then, last summer the kids who did attend were kept in pods of ten students each.
“One of the things our teachers enjoyed was getting to know those kids so well last summer,” said Kids Club Coordinator Molly Nelson. “They really enjoyed those pods, so the hope is to be able to keep those pods but mix them a little more frequently.”
Summer is about offering the community options, and now that people can start to gather with less-restrictive guidelines, the hope is that the community education offerings can reach more who need them.
“We have an important role in our community, and we try our best to fill that role,” said Sendle. “Especially now–we’re trying to provide some normalcy.”
