In March 2020, schools nationwide shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of Peoples’ long-time partners, Urban Impact Foundation, quickly pivoted their programming to meet the immediate needs of the community. Urban Impact is a faith-based nonprofit serving the youth on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Throughout the pandemic, they helped local families by delivering essential items like groceries and school supplies. As the 2020-2021 school year approached and Pittsburgh Public Schools announced schools would remained closed, Urban Impact knew they would have to do something to help their students academically and meet the needs of local families. The “Learning Labs” program was born.
“Learning Labs was created to provide a safe place and conducive learning environment for Urban Impact students to continue their education, and to provide intervention and enrichment support while they engage in remote learning,” says Amanda Wagner, Director of Education at Urban Impact. “This program also ensures daily school attendance, participation, and engagement for students.”
Peoples jumped in at the opportunity to support the program. With Urban Impact’s strong ties throughout the community and their ongoing partnership with Peoples, it was clear that the Learning Labs would be able to address a critical need during a challenging time.
“Learning Labs is serving K-5 and high school students,” Wagner explains. “While we expected to help provide a safe and loving atmosphere for students to engage in online learning by providing a small student to volunteer ratio (1:2), we did not anticipate how much our volunteers would begin to wrap around the entire family as a result of this program.”
“We have volunteers that help provide transportation to and from Learning Labs for families who do not have transportation. Volunteers have helped to deliver groceries,” Wagner adds. “Urban Impact is committed to serving students and families in a holistic way — this is just one more example of how our volunteers and staff are doing so.”
Learning Labs consists of two groups of around 48 students each. Each group meets twice per week for six hours per day. Students, staff, and volunteers for the two groups are kept separate to minimize the risk. Classrooms go through a deep clean, and everyone wears masks and keeps socially distant as much as possible. Students complete their online studies from their schools and receive supplemental assistance and tutoring from the Urban Impact staff and volunteers. Each child receives breakfast and lunch, and fun activities are built in throughout the day.
“Students look forward to seeing their friends and the Urban Impact staff and volunteers at Learning Labs, even while following CDC guidelines,” Wagner says. “Learning Labs has allowed for us to walk alongside students throughout the entire school day. It has deepened our relationships with students, families, teachers, and school staff.”
Wagner explains that Urban Impact plans to continue Learning Labs as long as needed. If Pittsburgh Public Schools transitions to a hybrid model, Urban Impact can continue to offer a safe, remote learning environment. Prior to the pandemic, the organization provided summer programming, tutoring, and in-school programs, and they look forward to the day when those activities can all safely resume.
“In a typical year, Urban Impact provides in-school support for students in math and reading, and we hosted a tutoring center after school hours,” Wagner explains. “After the pandemic, the need for these types of programs will be even greater. The support from Peoples has allowed us to continue to meet a very large need for students and families in the North Side community, and we’re very grateful for the ongoing support.”