Tarrant County officials approve virtual learning assistance sites for school children

FORT WORTH, Texas - Money from the CARES Act will help Tarrant County parents cope with the challenges of distance learning.

County commissioners on Tuesday approved $770,000 in CARES Act funding to make nine virtual learning assistance sites available across Tarrant County.

For some families, online learning is off the mark for their household dynamic. 

“I can’t afford to pay $1,600 a month for my kids to go somewhere for virtual learning and I can’t sit right with them all day,” said Elizabeth Leggett, a working mom.

Leggett’s daughter is starting kindergarten and her son is a third grader. She works full-time, so she’s happy about the new nonprofit collaboration involving four groups that will allow parents like Leggett to pay $30 per week per child.

“I found out about it yesterday and I was able to tell one of my friends, a parent of one of my son’s friends and she was immediately excited because same situation,” Leggett said.

A Fort Worth YMCA is one of the sites parents will drop off students where they can attend their virtual classes, receive support, supervision, plus take part in social activities.

“Some don’t have the flexibility to work from home, inadequate internet access or unreliable internet access and you’ve got those who aren’t comfortable supporting their children with their school work,” said Jason Ray, Clayton Youth Enrichment.

The collaboration includes four groups: the YMCA, Girls Incorporated of Tarrant County, Tarrant Girls and Boys Clubs and Clayton Youth Enrichment.

“It’s really urgent because many families have solutions but many do not so we want to make sure they know that for $30 a week they can have a full week of educationally supported time with their child as well as the enrichment time,” Ray said.

The project starts September 8 with space for more than 550 students and is mainly to support the Tarrant County school districts outside the city of Fort Worth, officials said.