ABOVE PHOTO: PCS grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony attendees (from far left to right) included: Pastor Damone Jones, Ann Colley, Anthony Fullard, Dr. Cassandra Jones, John Barber, Tiffany Wilson and Kate Morrow. Ad (Photo courtesy f PCS)
The Philadelphia Community Stakeholders (PCS) hosted an official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on October 20 with special guests, including Philadelphia City Councilmember Curtis Jones, The Goldenberg Group’s People Helping People Foundation, representatives from the ShopRite supermarkets operated by the Brown family, Cisco Systems, Inc., the Four Seasons Hotel, West Philadelphia Financial Services Institution (WPFSI), The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Bible Way Baptist Church and several community and school partners..
The Center is located in the Bible Way Baptist Church in the Parkside neighborhood of West Philadelphia.
The program was created for Philadelphia students and families in response to the need for academic, social, emotional, and parent support services that have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic and the new challenges created by the abrupt transition to virtual instruction.
The Learning Pod and Parent Resource Center offers a myriad of services at no cost to families, including adult supervision and support for each student’s virtual learning school program, supplemental lessons and activities to close learning gaps, a parent resource center to support parent and caregivers, with additional information and wrap around services, mental and behavioral health counseling, free meals and snacks for the children enrolled in the program, and small group instruction with a 1:5 instructor student ratio in socially distanced small learning groups.
“We know that Philadelphia children have lost a tremendous amount of instructional time because they have been out of school since March of last school year,” Sandra Dungee Glenn, program director, said. “Our goal is to support a child’s virtual learning program while also helping them with additional supplemental support, as well as being a resource for parents. We know school systems can’t handle this alone and we as a community all need to step up and do our part. We can either address this issue now or pay for it later.”
The Learning Pod & Parent Resource Center has secured funding to keep it open and running through the end of this calendar year. However, the goal is to continue the program through the end of the school year in June of 2021, as well as replicate the program at other locations throughout the city.
About PCS
PCS is a network of Black community leaders, union leaders, educators, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and activists from across the city of Philadelphia with a mission of developing, supporting, and executing a collective agenda that positively impacts and improves the quality of life for the Black community.
For more information, please visit: pcslearningpods.com or contact: [email protected].
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