Port St. Lucie partners with Boys & Girls Club for mobile educational program
Port St. Lucie. FL (treasurecoast.com) -The city will partner with the Boys & Girls Club of St. Lucie County to provide a mobile tutoring and education program to low- and moderate-income areas.
The City Council Monday gave the green light to the “Club in a Bus” program — which would be funded by federal grants up to $150,000 — so children can have access to internet, laptops, tutoring and other educational activities.
The grants would finance tents, chairs, Wi-Fi, laptops and other equipment.The city also would provide either a bus, van or trailer.
The program would aim to address the education gap that has widened as a result of the pandemic, as many students have stayed home and participated in virtual learning, according to Mayor Greg Oravec.
Almost 60% of low-income parents nationwide fear their kids will be unable to finish their school work, will have to work on a cellphone or will need to use public Wi-Fi because they lack a computer or reliable internet, according to a Pew Research study released in April.
Low-to-moderate-income households, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are those making less than 80% of the area median income. In St. Luice county, that’s no more than $55,600 for a family of four, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corp.
The program would be available to everyone in the city regardless of income, according to city Community Programs Administrator Alessandra Tasca. The low-and-moderate income areas the city hopes to target have yet to be determined, Tasca said.
The Boys & Girls Club of St. Lucie County — part of a national nonprofit organization that provides voluntary after-school programs to the youth — has 15 school-based clubs throughout the county and two neighborhood clubs in Port St. Lucie.
City officials said they hope to launch the program this summer, and socially-distanced guidelines would be in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
