Boys & Girls Clubs of North Louisiana Announce Re-Opening Dates & Plans
The Boys & Girls Clubs of North Louisiana announced plans that it will re-open its doors on Monday, Sept. 14. This will be the first operating day with children in the buildings since March 13, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools and afterschool programs to temporarily close its doors.
The staff at the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Louisiana continued to serve its members in every way possible from handing out free meals to providing educational packets throughout the past six months. However, this will be the first day that the Evergreen Club in West Monroe and the Memorial Club in Ruston will be filled with childrens’ laughter and excitement.
As we plan to re-open, the safety and well-being of the kids and staff are and will always be our top priority. With that in mind, we have made decisions that may adversely affect some families initially, but, we must consider the organization as a whole.
Our club cannot guarantee a COVID-19 free environment. However, we have implemented several procedures as an effort to prevent or avoid the spread of the virus. We have a board-led, safety committee that is overseeing our processes. We are also staying up-to-date on guidance and information from the CDC, BESE and Strong Start 2020, just to name a few. We are communicating with school administrators and similar agencies to identify strategies and best practices for safety.
Our new operating hours will be 2:30-6 p.m. for the fall semester to allow our staff to thoroughly clean and sanitize the clubhouse at the end of the day. The number of youth being served at each site has also been reduced. After examining enrollment records, we determined that number could be achieved by serving 2nd-8th graders in this phase. We will continue to offer low-tech virtual programming to members not at the clubhouse.
Other new procedures are as follows:
- Students attending school on alternating days can only attend the club on days in which they are at school.
- Temperature will be checked at first point of contact, (i.e. bus or facility). Safety checkers will be responsible for checking kids in and logging the survey questions.
- No more than 10 people per room/area (eight youth and two staff).
- Snacks will be served in same location as Power Hour.
- One (1) activity rotation per day. Schedule changes daily.
- High traffic doors will be propped open to minimize hand touches.
- All water fountains closed. Water bottles will be needed for each member.
- All members will be expected to wear a mask unless they have a doctor’s excuse on file
- Masks should be worn when entering the building
- Staff will be required to wear a mask when interacting with students and when social distancing is not possible with colleagues
- Staff members interacting with the public are required to wear a mask
