STEM and fun after school

After several decades as the go-to provider of after-school programs for the Medford School District, the Rogue Valley Family YMCA has been told it won’t be needed anymore. The district says it will go with a for-profit company, Innovation Learning of Colorado, which plans recreational programing such as dance, art, soccer and karate, but with a big focus on STEM academics and digital skills such as coding and robotics. Innovation Learning is run by parents, teachers and school administrators and will hire local teachers, administrators, part-time classified staff and Southern Oregon University teachers-in-training to operate the program, said MSD Chief Operations Officer Brad Earl. These will be teachers who can essentially extend the school day, while keeping it fun and engaging — and who can write lesson plans and will know where certain students need help, said Earl. “The number one way we succeed in student outcome is quality time with a teacher, and the second way is caring time with an adult,” he said. The district has used the YMCA in Medford for after-school programs for almost 40 years, but on an informal basis, with no contract, says Executive Director Brad Russell. Medford parents are still free to send their K-8 children to Y programs — and the YMCA will continue providing after-school activities for Central Point, Eagle Point and Phoenix-Talent schools, he said.