The spring session of Perry’s Academic, Cultural and Enchrichment Services (PACES) program was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the summer program will be happening as planned. However, PACES Director Mary Hillman says it will operate a bit differently this year.

One big change is that the program will start earlier than usual, on June 1st, which was allowed due to the early completion of the school year. Hillman says the programming will mostly stay unchanged during the summer, with the exceptions being no large group gatherings, no out-of-town field trips, and no visits to the McCreary Community Building. Additionally, parents will not be allowed inside the school at any time. Hillman emphasizes that these changes are with the health and safety of the children in mind, and she says her staff will be strictly adhering to cleanliness standards.

“We are very diligently working here, we’re following all the guidelines to the letter, and that is for the safety of our students, our parents, our staff, and community members as well. Besides taking temperatures there when they come in, we’ll be taking temps again in the middle of the day or more as needed. We have additional wipes and we have additional hand sanitizer, so we’re going to do everything in our power. So anything that you normally would think of, that’s what we’re doing here, and I hope we keep everybody healthy; that is our goal (so) that we can stay open all summer and have a great summer for these kids.”

To learn more about the PACES summer program listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.