St. Joseph REC Center
The City of St. Joseph is introducing a program to help fill a void left behind by the elimination of the St. Joseph School District’s Summer Explorers program.
“Several folks, private and public both have wanted to help be sure that there are summer activities for our youth,” City Manager Bruce Woody said.
The Explorers program was cut in February because the school district was no longer able to get reimbursement from the state for the program. Now the city is introducing it’s own summer program called, REC Connect.
“It’s a summer youth program for kids ages six through 12,” Woody said.
The eight week program will be primary located out of the the City’s REC Center. It will start June 15 and run through August 7th, Monday to Friday with drop-offs starting at 7:30 a.m. and pick-up at 5:30 p.m. Woody said two meals each day will also be provided.
“We’ll have a ratio of recreations leaders of one leader to every 10 to 12 children,” Woody said. “This is the first time for our program so we will put a cap on the number of children in the initial program but if it’s successful and continues to grow there’s a strong possibility that we may continue to grow.”
Currently, Woody said the city is looking at capping the program at around 150 children, putting a large dent into the district’s Explorers program which averaged around 270 children.
Activities children will be able to take part in include utilizing the REC Center, Bode Ice Arena, visits to the Nature Center, Aquatic Park and other outdoor activities.
Woody said there will be a registration fee and weekly fees to support the program which have not yet been announced. He expects registration to start April 1.
For more information about the program contact the St. Joseph REC Center (816) 271-5512.