School’s Out joins North Shore Y
By Natalie Miller/Hamilton-Wenham@cnc.com
Wed Nov 07, 2007, 10:54 PM EST
Hamilton-Wenham - The 14-member board of School’s Out of Hamilton-Wenham will hand over the reigns of the 20-year-old program to the board of the North Shore YMCA this January.
School’s Out, Inc. board members decided to merge with the YMCA in an effort to stay alive in the midst of funding troubles.
Pat Purdy, president of School’s Out, Inc., said the partnership with the Y will ensure that School’s Out is able to continue offering services to Hamilton and Wenham as well as developing further programming and additional services.
“It is a way for School’s Out to survive and grow,” she said.
Since 1984, School’s Out has provided programming for children ages 5-14, such as before- and after-school care for elementary and middle school students, summer camps and kindergarten enrichment classes.
But due to decreases in funding and demand, the School’s Out board has had to cut programming. In the fall the nonprofit organization stopped its kindergarten enrichment program, which provided all- day kindergarten for area children, because all-day kindergarten is now offered in the public school district. Purdy said School’s Out also had to end middle-school programming because of the expense to run that program.
In looking at options to keep School’s Out in operation, the board began to explore a partnership with the YMCA, which, Purdy noted, is a larger organization and can provide School’s Out with the resources and systems to run the program.
“I think it will be a good thing for the community,” she said, pledging that School’s Out will continue to stay in Hamilton and Wenham. The YMCA of the North Shore serves both Hamilton and Wenham, as well as other local communities.
Another large part of School’s Out is its scholarship contribution to families of Hamilton and Wenham. Purdy said this service would continue to benefit the people who need it.
“Part of our mission is to support families through the scholarship program,” she said, adding that the Y has agreed to maintain that goal.
“Our missions are very similar,” said Purdy. “The Y will provide the leadership and administrative needs that School’s Out has. Any changes (to the program) will be for the better. So far the work with the Y has been very positive.”
Children participating in School’s Out will receive a membership to the YMCA, and in addition, since the Y is a larger organization, Purdy hopes the merger will bring greater opportunities for School’s Out staff, such as training and other professional opportunities.
Purdy also hopes that the Y will be able to welcome Hamilton and Wenham middle-schoolers into its Teen Center, at the Sterling YMCA in Beverly.
In a press release, Sterling YMCA Executive Director Megan O’Neil said, “Our focus is to keep this successful program intact, while providing them with the resources of the YMCA, like consistency and quality of programming. The staff at School’s Out will stay the same and we will offer them all the benefits of YMCA employment including staff training and career development.”
Purdy said it was a difficult decision initially, but the alternative was to close the program entirely and the board was determined to find a ways to be able to continue to provide the community with the “outstanding service the towns have come to rely on.”
She admitted the sad part would be when the Hamilton-Wenham board disbands in January, handing the baton to the YMCA board.
"We can go over there and join the Beverly Y board", Purdy said, noting that most will just say goodbye. "We need to move on. As a board we have fulfilled our responsibilities."
But, she said, there will be a parent advisory group to the Y board and Scott Beyer, president of the Greater Beverly YMCA’s board of directors, is a Wenham resident.
“We will be represented,” said Purdy. “We are not concerned about that.”
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