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'Community Classrooms' growing beyond Harrisburg area after first week

Concept which gives young students a safe space to learn while parents are at work moving to Lancaster, possibly Philadelphia.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Third grader Chawnzie Nicholson hasn't missed a day from the first week of Harrisburg Area School District's return to class. 

That's a lot harder than it sounds.

Harrisburg schools started the year with a 100-percent online, virtual learning model. However, Chawnzie's mom Pernell works during the day, and can't leave her son home alone to learn by himself. 

So Pernell enrolled Chawnzie in one of Harrisburg's 'Community Classrooms'; a learning space where there are volunteers and tutors to watch over young students for a few hours every weekday. Parents, like Pernell, can continue to work, and students, like Chawnzie, can remotely log onto their class and learn.

State Representative Patty Kim (D-Dauphin), who kickstarted the concept only a couple weeks before Harrisburg schools opened on August 31, has spent multiple days with Chawnzie.

"When I’m with [Chawnzie] it’s just helping him focus because it’s hard. It’s hard for little ones to stay focused on the computer for hours," Kim said. 

Currently, there are 12 'Community Classrooms' between the Harrisburg and Steelton-Highspire School Districts. The first week, 100 students signed up. However, only 35 showed up. Representative Kim expects that number to rise as more people learn the program is being offered, adding that she's already reached out to the school districts, asking them to tell students who have been missing classes that they want them participating in 'Community Classrooms.'

'Community Classrooms' has no official affiliation with school districts.

"You have to give people an alternative," Kim said. "We know that we’re in a crisis, and we know that we’re in a pandemic, but when we give an order we have to give a practical option for parents. When I heard '100% online' I thought, what are working parents going to do? We need people to work. We need them to contribute to the economy. We need people to keep the economy turning. Childcare is too expensive, so I wanted to fill a need."

The need goes far beyond the Harrisburg area. Even before Representative Kim started brainstorming ways to make it work in the Capital City, Kevin Ressler of the United Way of Lancaster County was already working on a similar concept for the School District of Lancaster. 

Alongside Chad Frey, one of the leaders in getting Community Classrooms off the ground, Kevin and the United Way connected with the Harrisburg-based program. Soon, SDoL students will be able to enroll in Community Classrooms in the Red Rose City. With some extra funding, Kevin, Patty, and others want the concept to expand statewide, starting in the Philadelphia area.

"We’ve got a solution, and we need the resources to pull it off," Ressler said. "We have to make sure every solution involves the kids not falling behind."

To enroll your student and find a location, go to CommunityClassrooms.org.

RELATED: As Harrisburg schools go online to start year, State Rep. Kim organizes "emergency classrooms" for families in need

RELATED: Community Classroom Project to be an option for children in Harrisburg, Steelton areas as districts move to online-only learning

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