INDIANAPOLIS — Schools in Marion County face a looming deadline to switch students to "virtual learning."
Marion County Health Department's newest restrictions prohibit in-person classroom learning from Nov. 30 through Jan. 15.
That's left many parents scrambling to make plans for their kids.
In response, The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis nonprofit, announced plans Friday to double the number of community learning sites it began funding in late August when Indianapolis Public Schools reverted to remote learning.
The sites provide safe, supervised e-learning in a classroom-like setting for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Shannon Williams, senior vice president of community engagement at The Mind Trust, said the sites are critical to working parents, especially those in high-need neighborhoods.
Williams said many families "aren't able to take off work with pay, and nor do they have the flexibility to work from home."
She said The Mind Trust wanted to "fill the gap and offer convenient solutions, to not only help students but set their parents minds at ease."
So it's investing in 11 more community learning sites, bringing the total in Marion County to 22.
Cornerstone Lutheran Church is one of 11 e-learning sites The Mind Trust funded in late August. The Shepherd Community Center has been overseeing it.
Andrew Green, assistant executive director of the community center, said, "it's a chance (for students) to come here, still focus on school and be able to interact with some peers in a safe, social-distanced way, besides offering them the support they need."
When the program kicked off in August, Williams said the response was so strong, there were waiting lists and there will continue to be even after adding more sites.
She said The Mind Trust began getting calls a few minutes after Friday's announcement, "from neighborhoods and school districts, actually various districts who are interested in the community learning sites. Unfortunately we can't meet the need without support from the broader community."
With the 11 additional sites, The Mind Trust will have invested $487,000 in the sites, money used to pay for staffing, maintenance, equipment, internet connectivity, PPE needs and frequent cleaning and sanitizing.
While the public health order prohibiting in-person learning is set to expire in mid-January, it could very likely continue past that date.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said as they waited for Congress to act on a second round of the CARES Act, "our city must find ways to support and expand initiatives like this one."
The mayor urged "residents, businesses, an the philanthropic community who have the means, please help support our students who need access to technology to meals to quiet space."
To learn more about the program and to register a child, click here.