County Dedicates a Portion of CARES Funding to Parks

One of the areas hit hard by the pandemic has been the closure of the public schools, leaving thousands of parents to juggle work and daycare, often doing both at home.
Even though businesses have gradually begun to reopen and employees returning to work, the schools have stayed with virtual and/or distant learning. This has left parents to wonder and worry how do they return to work when there is no place for the children to be during the day.
To address this dilemma, the Tulsa County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) decided to dedicate a portion of the county’s CARES funding to the county’s Park and Recreation Department to design a program using park facilities where the children could safely be during the day.

On Sept. 30, we announced the “School of Rec” program. School of Rec began on Oct. 4 in four of the county parks: Chandler Park Community Center, Bixby Community Center, SoCo Recreation Center, and LaFortune Park Community Center.
At each of these centers, students age 6-13 have access to virtual or distance learning. Like traditional school, School of Rec is in session Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
The cost is $50/week and is limited to 20 students per location. Students must bring their own laptop, school supplies, sack lunch and water bottle. Park staff interact and monitor students as well as ensuring they follow CDC guideline by maintaining physical distance and ensuring learning surfaces are frequently cleaned.
School of Rec provides county parks locations that parents can turn to when their children need a trusted, safe, and clean place to distance and/or virtual learn while parents focus on their regular jobs.
The City of Tulsa Parks and Recreation Department has also started a similar program at five (5) locations. Both the City and County Parks Departments work together to make sure if one location is full that they help the parents find either a city or county facility that has openings.
The School to Rec program is just one of dozens of areas throughout the county where the BOCC has directed the use of the CARES funds to provide rescue and recovery efforts to families and businesses that have been disrupted by the COVID 19 public health emergency. To learn more about the county’s CARES program, visit www.tulsacountycares.org
For more information about this program please contact the Centers directly:
Chandler Park – 918-591-6053
Bixby Center – 918-366-4841
SoCo Center – 918-746-3780
LaFortune Center – 918-496-6220