New Extended Day registration process (APS) - no longer first come first served

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard APS really dropped the ball on getting enrollment info out to incoming parents. Apparently at our school we had 1/3 of the normal kinder sign ups. I would be interested to see what it is at other schools.

For as many things as APS rightly gets blamed. I don't think they dropped the ball on this. They have an info session on extended day at the Kinder info night and it was all over their website and social media. If people didn't get signed up in the month and a half they gave to sign up after giving notice of the sign up a full month in advance, that's on those parents.

PS - I am not normally the one to defend APS and I didn't like the process this year, but no one can claim APS didn't give them fair warning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard APS really dropped the ball on getting enrollment info out to incoming parents. Apparently at our school we had 1/3 of the normal kinder sign ups. I would be interested to see what it is at other schools.

For as many things as APS rightly gets blamed. I don't think they dropped the ball on this. They have an info session on extended day at the Kinder info night and it was all over their website and social media. If people didn't get signed up in the month and a half they gave to sign up after giving notice of the sign up a full month in advance, that's on those parents.

PS - I am not normally the one to defend APS and I didn't like the process this year, but no one can claim APS didn't give them fair warning.

+1. It’s not like people don’t know their kid is eligible to start kindergarten in the fall, at some point they need to take responsibility for calling and finding out how to register. If you leave it until August, it’s on you when something like extended day is full.

[Anonymous]

Just got an email saying five schools will need to have a lottery and the rest will enroll those who signed up before the deadline. This link shows how many registered by school.

https://www.apsva.us/2019-2020-school-year-current-capacity-and-registrations-received/

[Anonymous]

PP - hit enter too soon. The schools that need lottery are Science Focus, Ashlawn, Claremont, Glebe, and McKinley.

[Anonymous]

Starting in 2nd grade, students identified as "walkers" are allowed to be released at end of day without parents to pick them up. If we don't get an extended day spot, my 2nd-grader will have to wait on the playground for me until we can pick him up, or hopefully he can re-enter the school to wait in the library. I think parents will have to get creative to get by.

I think its an outrage that the schools allow PTAs to hold enrichment classes in the school's empty classrooms yet supposedly they "don't have enough space" to expand the extended day program. And, if they cannot hire enough qualified extended day staff, they should increase the salaries because we parents will gladly pay more for the staff to be adequately compensated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starting in 2nd grade, students identified as "walkers" are allowed to be released at end of day without parents to pick them up. If we don't get an extended day spot, my 2nd-grader will have to wait on the playground for me until we can pick him up, or hopefully he can re-enter the school to wait in the library. I think parents will have to get creative to get by.

I think its an outrage that the schools allow PTAs to hold enrichment classes in the school's empty classrooms yet supposedly they "don't have enough space" to expand the extended day program. And, if they cannot hire enough qualified extended day staff, they should increase the salaries because we parents will gladly pay more for the staff to be adequately compensated.

Amen. We would gladly pay 20% more to ensure adequate staffing and no waitlist

Raise the FinAid minimum too, but for most families it’s still cheaper than daycare.

[Anonymous]

I'm new to this, so it's probably been explained elsewhere, but HOW is there room for many many more kids during the school day but somehow not enough room for an hour or two after school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starting in 2nd grade, students identified as "walkers" are allowed to be released at end of day without parents to pick them up. If we don't get an extended day spot, my 2nd-grader will have to wait on the playground for me until we can pick him up, or hopefully he can re-enter the school to wait in the library. I think parents will have to get creative to get by.

I think its an outrage that the schools allow PTAs to hold enrichment classes in the school's empty classrooms yet supposedly they "don't have enough space" to expand the extended day program. And, if they cannot hire enough qualified extended day staff, they should increase the salaries because we parents will gladly pay more for the staff to be adequately compensated.

If he is a walker why can't he walk home and meet you there? Just curious why you'd have him loiter at school instead of doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starting in 2nd grade, students identified as "walkers" are allowed to be released at end of day without parents to pick them up. If we don't get an extended day spot, my 2nd-grader will have to wait on the playground for me until we can pick him up, or hopefully he can re-enter the school to wait in the library. I think parents will have to get creative to get by.

I think its an outrage that the schools allow PTAs to hold enrichment classes in the school's empty classrooms yet supposedly they "don't have enough space" to expand the extended day program. And, if they cannot hire enough qualified extended day staff, they should increase the salaries because we parents will gladly pay more for the staff to be adequately compensated.

Is this true at the schools with waitlists- that they will still be hosting after school enrichment programs? I agree with you if so. Our school doesn't have a waitlist but is very close by the published numbers. I would expect them to scale back enrichment to make more room for aftercare kids if that would help in any way.

[Anonymous]

The trick I used in the bad old call race days? I pressed whatever it was for Spanish, In my broken HS spanish I registered my kid. They picked up immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm new to this, so it's probably been explained elsewhere, but HOW is there room for many many more kids during the school day but somehow not enough room for an hour or two after school?

They don't have the staff to watch all those kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm new to this, so it's probably been explained elsewhere, but HOW is there room for many many more kids during the school day but somehow not enough room for an hour or two after school?

They don't have the staff to watch all those kids.

Also, at least in our school, extended day kids generally have to be in the cafeteria, playground, or library. They staff to monitor those spaces. During the school day you wouldn't have all the students in just those spaces. If they needed to also use multiple classrooms you are quickly raising the amount of staff needed.

[Anonymous]

If your kid isn’t in enrichment or ED, they can’t go hang out at the library. There is no supervision for him.

[Anonymous]

So, because you go to a school with more dual working parents in need of aftercare you aren't guaranteed a slot for extended day. Doesn't seem fair somehow. This should be a county-wide thing, not a school by school thing.

-McK parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, because you go to a school with more dual working parents in need of aftercare you aren't guaranteed a slot for extended day. Doesn't seem fair somehow. This should be a county-wide thing, not a school by school thing.

-McK parent

YES especially since we the parents are funding extended day. As PPs said, increase the pay to be able to hire and retain more staff and increase the fees. When we were waitlisted last year (even though I registered the night of first day open), I called the Y and some martial arts place and both had waitlists. Fortunately we got in over the summer but I was stressing about having to switch to part time if that was even possible. I didn't know of other options but hopefully the Y will increase its capacity.

Sigh, another McKinley parent