Recreation Worcester typically starts the week after the 4th of July, but the city still needs more help to staff the program this summer.

The free summer camp will now start on July 20, with training for new employees starting next week. 

The city's director of youth opportunities says they still plan to serve the 800-900 kids they see every summer, but because of COVID-19, they will need to be spread out at 45 different sites, instead of 10. Each will only have 15 kids and they will stay in groups of five. ​

"We're going to have a 1 to 5 ratio, so kids will be able to get a lot of individual attention this summer. In order to do contact tracing, none of our staff will be moved around from any site to the other," says Raquel Castro-Corazzini, director of youth opportunities.

The city is hiring and Recreation Worcester is also looking for adjustment counselors and literacy coaches to help students affected by the pandemic.