West Holmes approves YMCA before- and after-school program at elementary school

West Holmes school leaders approved a YMCA before- and after-school program at West Holmes Elementary School, setting up a new child care option for the 2026-27 school year. The board also approved the use of district space and waived building fees, lowering the cost for the YMCA of Wayne County to operate on campus.

For working parents in Holmes County, the arrangement puts supervision at the school itself rather than in a separate location. The YMCA’s school-age programs at other sites include homework help, an afternoon snack, art projects and active group games, giving students a structured place to begin and end the day around classes.

The timing lines up with West Holmes Local Schools’ 2026-27 calendar, which lists Sept. 8, 2026, as the first day of school for elementary students. It also builds on the YMCA of Wayne County’s growing presence in Holmes County, after the organization began before- and after-school programming in Millersburg at the start of the 2025-26 school year through a partnership with United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties.

The district is making the YMCA partnership while it continues work on a new K-5 building in Millersburg. West Holmes broke ground on that project in August 2024, and local reporting described it as a roughly $40 million school that will combine the county’s elementary schools into one building. The YMCA program adds another service to that campus plan, with district space approved for a family service tied directly to the school day.