Disney World resort creates 'schoolcation' option for families, offers supervised class sessions
ORLANDO, Fla. - Back to school is looking pretty different for Americans across the country. But as students, teachers and parents navigate the murky waters of online learning, a Florida hotel is here to help lighten the load.
The Four Seasons Resort Orlando at the Walt Disney World Resort is letting parents and their children keep up the vacation vibes, even while school is back in session, through its “schoolcation” initiative, which is providing quiet learning spaces for children to use while they attend classes remotely.
Parents can enroll their children in the supervised sessions, where kids can attend classes and do their homework before experiencing the “ultimate recess” at the hotel’s water park, and outdoor recreation areas, a press release from the hotel shares.
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“This new offering exclusively for our Resort guests will be both helpful to parents, as well as something really fun for kids to experience,” says Thomas Steinhauer, general manager and regional vice president of Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort. “Many kids have been completing school work in their homes for a while now. A chance to mix up their learning environment, and combine school and playtime at the Resort, is sure to be a welcome treat and create a memory that will last a lifetime.
The sessions are held either for half-day (9 a.m. – 12 p.m.) or full-day (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) with small groups of up to six children, with each given their own desk area, according to the release. The classroom space is set up to allow for physical distancing.
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Like with real school, the full-day schedule will allow for a lunch break, as well as a physical education hour or optional arts and crafts hour.
A hotel in Mexico is offering a similar deal. It has advertised its “complimentary home school coordinators” as a way to attract families to visit as the travel industry slowly starts to recover from shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic.