DCPS and charter PS-3/PK-4 aftercare hours, cost, & opinions?

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to figure out where to apply next year. Where does your child go to school, and what is the aftercare program like for preschool and pre-K? Does the aftercare program offer coverage on days when the school is closed for professional development and parent-teacher conferences? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

With so many schools out there, it would help to know which ones you're considering.

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP, but people on DCUM, myself included, get a little annoyed at such broadbased questions. While I'm sure it's not intended, the tone of your message seems a bit entitled...my initial reaction is "help yourself"...call the schools you care about and ask, provide us with a short list of schools you are considering, and run searches on this forum (since this question is asked often). I'm sure I sound a bit more harsh than I intend...so I'm sorry for that...but you can't come on here asking for this sort of info on the day the lottery closes and expect a ton of feedback.

[Anonymous]

You are kidding - right?

Was it not clear during the open houses you attended?

[Anonymous]

There's a "public schools consultant" in town - maybe you have heard of her?

[Anonymous]

Yes, try doing a forum search for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to figure out where to apply next year. Where does your child go to school, and what is the aftercare program like for preschool and pre-K? Does the aftercare program offer coverage on days when the school is closed for professional development and parent-teacher conferences? Thanks!

All schools have some type of aftercare. Title I DCPS schools are cheap and supported by DCPS. Non Title I have private providers with sliding fee scale. You need to contact each charter school separately to find out what they offer. Almost every parent at your school will be dealing with the same thing. Ask them. This should not be your main concern at this point. Check back again in the fall after you have looked at schools.

(Come on people. Try to be nice. OP is clearly a new parent.)

[Anonymous]

I agree with the above poster, but wanted to say that it IS, it may actually be a concern that parents should think about sooner rather than later. If you work full-time and your child will be in aftercare until 6, that's 2 1/2 hours every day -- and the quality of that care does matter.

I didn't fully appreciate it at the time I applied to schools, but I'm very satisfied that my charter (CM) has taken on the responsibility of coordinating and running after-care in-house, and not simply contracting it out to another organization. It means that the same philosophy that drives the schools continues through the aftercare program. I've heard stories of horrible aftercare programs at a couple schools and have to say that, given the amount of time my child spends in after-care every day, I'm thrilled not to have to worry about the quality of the care she's receiving.

[Anonymous]

My child at a DC public school, not title 1. After care is ok, not great, depends very much on which facilitator the after-school care company has in each class. When the school is closed there is nothing.

[Anonymous]

A quick point about DCPS title 1 schools. The aftercare may be cheap/free, but that's only for families that qualify. We were at an EotP school last year and had to pay $10/day for a very chaotic program that made heavy use of videos. Just fyi.

[Anonymous]

Several charters and DCPS schools use Springboard aftercare. You can take a look at their website and get a sense of before care and aftercare costs. I think aftercare is about $15 to $17 at most of the Springboard schools if you are paying for daily care. There is a discount if you enroll in the monthly program.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the replies. I think I just had bad timing with the original post and was surprised it made people mad. I'm trying to figure out some stuff ahead of the lotteries next year for PS the following year. We'll probably apply to all of usual suspects for charter schools, and I'll try to see which OOB lotteries we might have a chance at getting in based on this year's results.

PPs 13:31 and 11:20, which schools were these?

How do parents like Springboard aftercare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A quick point about DCPS title 1 schools. The aftercare may be cheap/free, but that's only for families that qualify. We were at an EotP school last year and had to pay $10/day for a very chaotic program that made heavy use of videos. Just fyi.

$10/day is good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the replies. I think I just had bad timing with the original post and was surprised it made people mad. I'm trying to figure out some stuff ahead of the lotteries next year for PS the following year. We'll probably apply to all of usual suspects for charter schools, and I'll try to see which OOB lotteries we might have a chance at getting in based on this year's results.

PPs 13:31 and 11:20, which schools were these?

How do parents like Springboard aftercare?

I'm a little annoyed at how Springboard promised us the world at Brent, and then delivered about 60% of what they promised. It is better than the DCPS aftercare was, but I would still give it maybe a 7/10. We've had several staff changes for my children, but I'm actually very happy with the teachers my kids have now. It does get very expenisve though - 3 kids in Springboard, each child has one paid-elective, and then the days off school and half days (where we usually have to find camps and pay extra). We have had zero TV this year with Springboard (but the older kids do get computer game time).

I love the on-line and automatic payment. I wish they would cover more of the half days and days off and communicate better about these.

[Anonymous]

Springboard over promised and under delivered at our school, too. Lots of staffing transitions, poor communication, issues with electives, etc.