Drop In School for Virtual Learners @ Strong Academy

Why a drop In school?

The COVID-19 Pandemic has caused the entire education system to be turned upside down. The number one issue families are now faced with is finding trustworthy childcare for their kids. We want to meet that need for your family.

Where will the drop in school be located?

Strong Academy located at 301 14th Street Buffalo, NY 14213 is opening up several classrooms for the purpose of providing a place for students to complete their virtual schooling obligations. Seating in classrooms will be adequately spaced out to accommodate for 6 feet of distance between students. These classrooms are located in the same building as our Nursery School and Homeschool Co-op programs.

When will the drop in school be in session?

September 14th will be the first day of school. We will be open for drop in school Monday- Friday from 8:45am to 3:00pm daily.

We realize that school schedules across Buffalo are in flux. Most local school districts have not set a year long schedule. Instead they are implementing various forms of scheduling for the beginning of the school year that will be be re-visited as the year progresses. We understand that this makes it difficult for parents to plan, however, we do need to have some type of commitment so that we can properly staff our drop in school. If you are comfortable with scheduling your child for the full year, please feel free to do so. At minimum, we are asking parents to register their child in 9 to 11 week blocks or per quarter. This will help us properly staff our classrooms with adequate supervisors. Our full year calendar is linked below for reference.

Who is eligible to attend the drop in school?

This program is open for students in 1st through 12th grades. If you are in need of child care for a child age 2-5, please see the Nursery School programs we have available. Students with IEP’s who receive therapy services are welcome to have their tele-therapy services be conducted on our campus. We have break out rooms for students to be able to engage in these virtual meetings one-on-one with their therapist. One of our staff members will be there too to ensure things go smoothly from the tech side of things and to provide in person supervision. We are also open to hosting in-person therapy visits and do prefer this method of therapy if at all possible.

What will the drop in school provide?

Strong Academy staff will be present to supervise all drop in students.Staff will have the role of making sure that students stay focused and engaged in the work assigned to them through their school teacher. We will also facilitate extra curricular activities to fill in any time between virtual meetings (outside time, gym time, board games, music time, arts and crafts etc).

Parents are responsible for communicating with the class supervisor about their child’s virtual school schedule so that the class supervisor can help keep track of the work being completed by each student. Students must bring their own school work (notebooks, textbooks, class supplies etc.) and laptop/ tablet for conducting their virtual meetings. It is not the responsibility of Strong Academy to provide curriculum or to tutor your child. While we will make every effort to answer school related questions and help provide guidance for school work, it is ultimately each students responsibility to reach out to their school teacher with any curriculum related questions.

Students are expected to have eaten breakfast at home before arriving to school. There will be a break daily from 11:30am to 12:00pm for lunch and another break at 2:00pm for snack. Students are expected to bring their own lunch and snack daily. Strong Academy will provide refrigeration for lunches that need to be kept cool. We will also provide a microwave for food that needs to be warmed up.

What is the cost for the drop in school program?

Strong Academy runs on a donation based payment model. To learn more about this model follow our program cost link here: www.strongacademybuffalo.com/program-cost

How can students join the drop in school? How is this drop in school implementing CDC guidelines as they relate to COVID 19?

Students must pre-register. We have a limited capacity (40 students), so it is of utmost importance for parents who wish to enroll their child in this program do so ASAP! You can register your child using the link below.

Please see our “COVID Operating Plans” link in the navigation menu to learn more about what our day to day will look like at Strong Academy.