Aftercare in Elementary School: What should I look for?
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Anonymous
| We love the aftercare at our charter, Inspired Teaching. Not sure if you were only looking for DCPS. We have split aftercare, some go onsite via Springboard which is decent. Others are behind the school with the YMCA. The Y aftercare has no TV, science projects, swimming, cooking classes, and rock climbing will begin this month. They are extremely organized and have fun games as well as organized lesson plans, dance and theater. My DC never wants to go home. I believe when the school moves next year, the Y will do onsite. Don't think they will offer the same extras (which are at no additional cost), but they will continue to offer some extras onsite. |
Anonymous
| It had never occurred to me that a school aftercare would have TV. Thanks, this opened my eyes. |
Anonymous
| What are typical monthly fees for after care? I'm sure they run a range, so maybe post the general area your school is in for context, thanks! |
Anonymous
| One other thing to take into account is that for some schools, granted not many of them, but some have waitlists for aftercare so if aftercare is an absolute necessity for you, you likely also want to find out what your chances are of getting your child into the aftercare program in pre-K. Is it likely that you would have to wait until kindergarten? Or a couple months into the school year? |
Anonymous
| Not sure which after cares have wait lists given OP specified Title 1 schools. But I can give OP my perspective as someone who spent several years using aftercare at HD Cooke, it was fine. My kids had a good time, didn't complain, but if screen time is big to you yes they will watch TV. The providers were caring but didn't try too hard to come up with stimulating activities. And there is no extra "enrichment" options that the JKLM schools offer, not at the fault of the program but 90% of the patents couldn't afford it (I'd guess this would be the same for most Title 1). |
Anonymous
| what do people at JKLM schools typically pay for aftercare? maybe both with and without enrichment? |
Anonymous
|
We are at Marie Reed and use aftercare.
Aftercare Pros: Run by the ECE staff, mostly the paraprofessionals, so they are the same credentialed classroom staff members that already know my child. Early Childhood students are kept separate. Cons: Higher student teacher ratio (this probably enables the staff to get enough of a break to keep their workday legal). It can get chaotic. Program: K-5 students have tons of choices: soccer, tennis, poetry, Girls on the Run etc. Early Childhood is less structured. This is fine when the weather is good, but when it's cold and rainy, the quality really varies. Some staff members use videos, while others do more structured activities. There may not be a great answer to having little kids in school for so many hours. |
Anonymous
| Aftercare is important. I did not realize until my kid started school how much joy and enrichment he would get out of it. We are at a school with MOMIES TLC, as well as dance, karate, Lego robotics, etc. |
Anonymous
And the staff ignore the kids on the playground, while they throw rocks or walk around in pee soaked pants. I've seen this several times and not impressed with IT aftercare at all, unfortunately. It's the main reason we are not applying there this year. |
Anonymous
My child has been at Cooke this year and I have been happy with the aftercare. A schedule is posted for the weekly activities, so we know what DD will be doing in aftercare. It is not screen-free. DD told me that she has watched "shows" before in aftercare, but when she describes those shows, they sound like short, educational programming a la PBS Kids. She also said that they do other things and do not watch "shows" every day. I know that many parents are probably less comfortable with that answer than I am, but she describes going to the library and reading books (and which books), playing on the playground and doing centers in the early childhood classroom she's in. The specials teachers also work with aftercare, though not the same teacher every day for every kid. The schedule comes in handy because it allows me to know that if I pick DD up early on a day when she's got art with the art teacher, she will be upset, whereas if I pick her up early on a day that is "just regular" (i.e. no special, just centers time in a classroom or playing outside), she will be fine with it. As for enrichment options, there are a variety of partnerships, but they are mostly for older students. We have Lego Robotics, for example, and our kids did well in the District-wide competition this fall (we were 7th out of 20, I believe). The PTO this year is working to increase partnerships and bring in programming to the aftercare for kids at all grade levels, but it's difficult, given that most parents will likely be unable to afford to pay for activities. |
Anonymous
| Can anyone share the monthly fees they pay? |
Anonymous
| At Lee, before care this year is $4 a day, and aftercare is $4 from 4-5pm, or $8 from 4-6pm. The program is well structured with quite a few "specials" available at no additional charge (yoga, dance, legos and karate... maybe more?) |
Anonymous
| Wow, Lee is a great deal. Anyone else? |
Anonymous
At Cooke it's free, but first come, first served. This is because of the school's status as one of the 40 lowest performing elementary schools where everything is free - lunches, aftercare, etc. I think there might be some fees for some of the enrichment activities for older grades, but we have not paid for anything this year. |
Anonymous
| I would second the recommendation for MOMIEs TLC, which has a great, caring, and well-structured aftercare program. The year is broken into two-week modules that each focus on famous person that can be associated with a social justice movement. The sit-down lecture and discussion time is broken up with a related activity, free play, and a snack throughout the afternoon. |