Students at one of the YMCA PRIMETIME locations show off some snacks they received.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — As a new school year approaches, Colquitt County students to get ready to return to their daily routine of school and extracurricular activities.

However, another group is getting prepared for the upcoming school year too: The Moultrie YMCA PRIMETIME, an after-school program that more than 500 students were a part of last school year.

The Moultrie YMCA PRIMETIME after-school program operates within the school system as they offer nine after-school programs for Norman Park, Odom, Sunset, Doerun, Okapilco, R.B. Wright, Funston, Hamilton, and Cox as late as 6 p.m. They also offer homework help where professionals come in and help students with their work, and they offer an art program that allows students to express themselves creatively.

One benefit of having multiple after-school programs is that students usually are stationed in the cafeteria of the school so parents can easily pick their children up and go home.

Chief financial officer of the Moultrie YMCA, Lynn Thomas, thinks that after-school programs are necessary for the development of children.

“Kids now come home from school and just want to play video games, sit on their phones and do Snapchat and other things like that,” said Thomas. “It gives them more of a social aspect where they actually have to talk to the kid next to them instead of just texting them.”

The program is also licensed by Bright from the Start, which means a state monitor comes in unannounced twice a year and makes sure that the program is following the required guidelines.

“We have very strict guidelines that we have to follow,” said Kristen Brogdon, senior program director of childcare services at the  Moultrie YMCA . “Some of the guidelines include staff ratios, food service and how many children can fit into a designated area.”

The Moultrie YMCA PRIMETIME after school program has upgrades scheduled to be done by 2020, as part of its relationship with Bright from the Start.

“By 2020 every program has to be quality rated, and what that means is that we just have to beef everything up,” said Thomas. “It gives us more standards to look at. It also gives parents a sigh of relief knowing we have to adhere to these standards and knowing we have another set of eyes checking on us. It helps make everyone accountable.”

If you would like to enroll your child in the Moultrie YMCA PRIMETIME after school program, visit the Moultrie YMCA to register or call 229-985-1154.