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Oyster Aftercare
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Anonymous
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OP Here: The solution, move to a socialized country... hey, in some countries I would not only get free quality child care but an "allowance" for having a child.
It just seems like this is one of those problems where there is an easy solution (I am not asking for world peace)... just increase the size of the program so more kids can participate. |
Anonymous
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I really do think these guys send a bus to Oyster pick students up after school, though I haven't paid much attention: http://www.centronia.org/html/school_age___youth_development.html
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Anonymous
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It's not just Oyster. I checked with Mann and they had a wait list. A friend was deciding between Janney and Eaton districts to buy a house and learned that Eaton had a long wait list.
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Anonymous
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Lafayette also has a wait list. I was assured it would not move fast enough for us to make it to the top by Sept.
I am trying to make arrangements with my employer for a flexible schedule. Keep your fingers crossed for me. |
Anonymous
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It's my understanding that the main reason OCA has a limit on the number of students is because of space constraints. Because of other activities (such as tutoring programs), cleaning schedule, etc., only a certain number of rooms are available for the aftercare program and the rooms have specific capacity limits. The DC Parks & Rec aftercare is based mostly in the cafeteria, while OCA uses a certain number of classrooms. Of course, weather permitting, the kids spend a lot of time outside in the playground. But the aftercare programs can't count on the outside space all the time, so they need designated indoor spaces and those indoor spaces have capacity limits.
As to alternatives, in addition to the Parks & Rec program and CentroNia, mentioned by other posters, I've seen private aftercare program brochures and advertisements at Oyster. I've never had a need to look into those, so unfortunately I don't remember the names of those programs, but there are places that advertise there and they pick up the kids at school and transport them to their programs. Good luck OP. |
Anonymous
| OCA is the expensive one. DC Parks and Recs the cheaper one. Both are 'OK' though OCA considered more 'cache' and activity driven and attracts those that can pay. Forget Centronia (offsite in Columbia Heights) unless they have gotten their act massively together. The Oyster community has not come together to seek and ensure high quality, scaled tuition before and after care for all. NO--it is not a DCPS responsibility. But it is a parent-school-community responsibility to get great care into place at every school, and there are many ways to do this. "Wonders"--MD based, available at Mann--is not-for-profit and amazing. Simply amazing. Its model should be expanded to every school. It is a crying shame that a school as popular as Oyster has not gotten its before/after care together. The repercussions of stressed before/after care are seen every day in the classroom. --teacher |
Anonymous
| As a former Oyster teacher, I was very dismayed by the "haves" and "have-nots" dichotomy created by the two differently priced (and different quality) aftercare programs housed in the same school. The fact that some kids got the 'classrooms' and some the 'gym' was not right. I hope the community, including Chancellor Rhee in her non-chancellor role as working parent in the school, comes together to address not only the demand issue, but also the economic disparity. --Former Oyster Teacher |
Anonymous
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Between the have and have-nots though there is still not enough slots for all of the children that need after-care (in either program). Some families can afford an aftercare program but not private childcare.
Given the level of parental involvement in the school, it is fascinating to me that solving this problem (as well as the disparity in quality) has not been solved earlier. |
Anonymous
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The OCA after care was $280/month for the 2008-2009 school year. That can hardly be qualified as being too expensive. And they also offer financial aid. B/w that and the even cheaper DC P&R program - there are many options (DCPR saves spots for low income kids, btw). The problem is what happens when there aren't enough spots and parents need to get babysitters or nannies to the tune of $1,000/month or more. That is the real disparity. There should be spots available for all the kids who need one.
Oyster is a largely wealthy school. That's why this hasn't happened yet. The same people who live in those 1.2 million homes are the ones with SAHMs or who have nannies. This isn't an issue for them, so it won't be made a priority. |
Anonymous
| The actual "haves" have live-in nannies or other private childcare options. OCA is designed as an affordable alternative and offers scholarships. DCPR may cost less, but I expect availability is usually the deciding factor. It isn't reasonable to find class conflicts absolutely everywhere. |
Anonymous
I never saw a family that could "afford" OCA choose DC Parks and Recs. So who does that leave in DC Parks and Recs? --former Oyster teacher |
Anonymous
| Why are there two systems? Any why are there so few slots given the need? |
Anonymous
| whoa! i am really glad you posted this. we are planning to move in-boundary in order to send dd to Oyster and i had no idea that this was possible. thanks for the heads up! now i am really concerned, btw, as we both wotk typical schedules... |
Anonymous
Some of the posters have mentioned that waiting lists for aftercare are a common problem at other schools, too. |
Anonymous
As a middle-income parent for whom private childcare is out of reach, I would have done it had OCA not had a spot for my child, though I suppose I turned to OCA first. I suspect the causes of disparities apparent in the classroom run much deeper than aftercare choices. |