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JCCC Partners with YMCA to Help Fill Community Need

October 22, 2020

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Johnson County Community College recently partnered with the YMCA of Greater Kansas City as a location for its new Y Learning Academy. This daily program provides a combination of childcare and education, an initiative that embodies the "community" in community college.

"The College is here to inspire learning, transform lives, and strengthen our community. I think that sharing our space with the YMCA’s Y Academy program actively supports each of those values," said Jeff Hoyer, JCCC Executive Director of Space Management.

JCCC is one of six Y Academy locations across the Kansas City metro. We started with 60 children, ages 5-12, from four different school districts, but enrollment has changed from week to week as school districts transition to hybrid and in-person learning. The plan is to keep Y Academy open as long as the need exists for families that have chosen "remote only" learning for the semester.

"It's been great to have classrooms in the Carlsen Center [at JCCC]. It helps make the environment feel like a learning environment in the traditional sense that children are used to. It helped with the transition into this new model of programming for students. We have access to plenty of rooms, so we are able to keep our groups small and have kids spread out," said Maigan Bridgette, YMCA multi-site coordinator.

Learn more about the Y Academy program and view some adorable photos captured by Susan McSpadden, JCCC Marketing Photographer.

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