SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—When Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel revised her shelter-in-place order on May 1, she relaxed restrictions on summer programs such as daycare and day camp, allowing families to begin planning activities for their kids after months of restrictions.
The announcement came with caveats: the programs must be in stable groups of no more than 12 kids, led by stable groups of instructors.
“Stable,” in this case, means that they must be the same members from start to finish.
In a message to the community, the county Parks, Open Spaces and Cultural Services Department said that it has made “major modifications” to its normal summer programming and that they have effectively been canceled.
The county plans instead to offer “enrichment camps” during the summer for children of essential and disaster service workers.
It is still unclear what the programs will look like countywide once the summer gets rolling. County officials are still deciding what is possible with smaller groups, and under shelter-in-place restrictions that will likely still be in place.
Plans could also change if state education officials follow through on potential plans to start the school year earlier in the summer.
The City of Watsonville has canceled its aquatics program that is held at Watsonville High School, Parks and Community Services Department (PCS) Director Nick Calubaquib said.
But several more are in the works, including Camp W.O.W.—which offers sports, arts-and-crafts and other activities. The city’s Police Activities League is also building its summer program.
Watsonville is also offering activities through its Virtual Recreation Center, which provides programs such as online cooking classes, education sessions and workouts.
The PCS has released a survey for parents to gauge their interest ahead of the summer season, and has a list of activities on its web page.
Recreation Coordinator Jessica Beebe said her department is following mandates of state officials as they create a framework for which businesses and services can open, and when they can resume.
“We are working on it feverishly, and sorting through the mandates as they are fluctuating,” she said.
Currently, the county is planning on offering nine-week sessions, with programs such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM), Junior Rangers and nature exploration. It will also offer a pared-down version of the popular Junior Lifeguards program, with sessions held exclusively at a pool.
“We want to provide the best of what we offer in any given summer,” Beebe said.
The county is also looking for volunteers who can help lead the sessions, she said. Officials are also looking for facilities such as pools, Beebe said, adding that the more volunteers and facilities that can be secured, the more programs that can be offered.
Beebe said that if the sessions are staggered that the county can potentially serve as many as 288 young people and possibly more.
“We’re trying to prepare for a large number of people, but at this point, we really don’t know what the need will be,” she said.
Michelle Cheney, executive director of Youth N.O.W., said that the organization plans to offer two sessions—one for young people entering middle school and another for those entering high school.
Those are important, she said, after all schools closed under coronavirus restrictions.
“The difference is more emphasis on academic bridgework to facilitate their transition to the next year,” she said. “Because they are so behind—they’ve lost out on so much schooling.”
In addition to helping to bolster their academic work, the sessions will include nature exploration and other supper-inspired programs, Cheney said.
“Our kids were looking forward to summer,” she said. “We just really want to bring something out for them.”
For information, visit www.scparks.com, https://parks.cityofwatsonville.org or www.youthnowcenter.org.
