With a $3 million gift from the Schmetterling Foundation, the new full-service Four Points YMCA will feature the YMCA’s first Tomorrow Academy. Set to open in early 2025, the academy will accept children ages 6 weeks to prekindergarten.
The context
Greater Austin YMCA CEO Kathy Kuras said the new center has been 10 years in the making. She said the Tomorrow Academy has always been a part of the plan for the Four Points YMCA, but thanks to the Schmetterling Foundation gift, the academy will now be the first phase of the building.
Schmetterling Foundation co-founder Colleen Clark said the Four Points neighborhood will benefit greatly from the new center addition.
“This is an area that's growing rapidly, and there's a ton of families without huge resources,” Clark said. “What better area to put something like this? Having had to find child care when I was working, and seeing what families are facing today, we know there’s a huge need, especially since the pandemic.”
When researching the community’s needs, Kuras said they found child care and early education was one of the top four priorities in Four Points.
“We had made a decision as a YMCA to build six to eight new early learning academies, which we branded the Tomorrow Academy, between now and around 2030,” Kuras said.
The impact
The YMCA currently offers early education to children ages 6 weeks to 4 years old in six preschools throughout the Austin area. This is done through their Extend-A-Care YMCA Early Education programs. The new facility will allow them to teach 800-1,000 students per day compared to their current 130 students, Kuras said.
“Those early years make the biggest difference in children learning to read and being really ready for kindergarten then thriving throughout their education, so that will have a really big impact,” Kuras said.
A main area of focus for the Tomorrow Academy will be offering financial assistance programs and making the program as affordable and accessible as possible, Kuras said. Funding for these assistance programs comes from YMCA donors and corporate sponsors. The YMCA works with individuals on a case-by-case basis to determine eligibility for financial assistance, as each situation is unique, Kuras said.
“Inflation really affected child care, and many of the costs are up by 50% or more,” Kuras said. “We just have to work even harder to help raise the funds that are needed for [child care] and look at other innovative ways to evolve the business model.”
The plan
After the Tomorrow Academy is established, Phase 2 of the Four Points YMCA will begin. This is when all outdoor spaces will be created, including a swimming pool, a splash pad, a playground, outdoor fitness areas and family gathering spaces. Phase 3 of construction will complete the YMCA facility by finishing the indoor fitness center with health and wellness studios and more, according to the project’s website.
In addition to early education, Kuras said other priorities listed by the Four Points community were health and wellness activities for children and STEM-based activities. The new center will offer swimming lessons, nutritional classes, a digital media area and a mini children's science activity area.
The goal is for the new YMCA to serve as a community center for the Four Points area, said Kuras.
“The [RM] 620 corridor has a lot of different homeowner communities, and a number of apartments have gone up,” Kuras said. “It’s really grown rapidly, but there isn’t a central place where all those communities can come together. ... The YMCA is going to be a common area for the whole community.”
- 8300 N. RM 620, Austin
- www.austinymca.org
