Petition to Save Aftercare Program at Alice Deal iddle School

[Anonymous]

Most of the feeder ES have aftercare programs. Perhaps some of the interested Deal parents could contact the leaders of these programs and see how they are implemented. I know that Janney is in the midst of a large aftercare transition. I'm sure someone on the JED board would be happy to help share what they've learned.

[Anonymous]

my DD is a rising 2nd grader at Murch - we pay for her aftercare, like any other Murch parent sending a child to one of the two after care programs (language and Murch Xday). frankly I do not understand why kids 11-13 years old should have a free day care (my DD has a July birthday and this year was the second youngest in her class - she will be 11 when she goes to Deal, so I do not think there are a lot of 10 years old at Deal).

parents here say that they do not necessarily want a free program, but the fact is that they got involved only when the free program was cut. since apparently the quality of the program was not good, I wonder why they did not get this brainstorming started in the spring, to organize a better (non-free) program.

I agree that the way the news was given, and the timing of the news, was not very good.

[Anonymous]

I don't think this is an issue of free or not free, it is an issue of what is available for parents to determine if it fits in their budget and time. I think the issue is how to know what is available at the school, current dispersed information does not help any of us make decisions. That is not a safe situation for our kids. I personally expect to pay, but I need to figure out what is available.

[Anonymous]

I'll chime in to say that the concern for me isn't really free vs. not free, but that organizing reliable individual care would cost so much more (and be harder to come by) than group care happening at the school.

Kids at this age can have a wide range of maturity levels. Mine still needs some adult supervision!

[Anonymous]

What would be nice is if the aftercare at the feeder schools (privately run) could accept back the 6th graders from Deal. Has anyone inquired about that?

[Anonymous]

Sorry but 80 kids is not "a handful" or "a smattering" or a tiny percentage. That's three classrooms full of kids whose parents are probably working hard to provide for their families and don't want them wandering the streets of DC. Gee, guess when a lot of kids start with drugs and sex? In between making themselves a PB&J and doing homework at home, alone.
What parents pay for aftercare is just a portion of what it costs to provide, but many many families cannot afford the average $15/hour for professional childcare that is the going rate in DC. That's the grocery & bus money.
I had a single dad and was a latchkey kid myself from WAY too young. And you don't need to work in a newsroom to know what comes up (and how old the kids are) every single day when you search the wires for the word "missing." It's sickening.
Cutting the aftercare budget was an extremely irresponsible decision.

[Anonymous]

It's not the timing, the number of kids, the email, or anything like that. It's the facts of the cuts themselves, and the failure of school administrators to collect fees did not help.

[Anonymous]

wish I could sign it, and my kid doesn't even go to Deal...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would very much like to have an after school option that runs later than activities restored at Deal, but I don't appreciate the accusatory language in the petition.

It seems much more to me like the program needed to be sacrificed as the result of hard choices in austere times. Perhaps, since most Deal families are not experiencing the same level of austerity in their personal budgets, we can come up with a private solution that will still cost each of us less than individually contracted supervision.

While Deal does serve many wealthy families, I don't know that these are the ones using aftercare. The Deal families I know personally who choose Aftercare are OOB families who don't feel comfortable with their kids home in less safe neighborhoods, or with their kids commuting on public transportation. These families come from a range of economic circumstances.

A sliding scale seems like a reasonable compromise.

No, I don't think so. The public school is in loco parentis from 8-3 or whatever the school day is. That's what your tax dollars pay for. Before school care and aftercare should be entirely out of pocket of parents at market rates. Why should taxpayers pick up the tab just so two parents can work? Ridiculous.

You are obviously some kind of rich moron who has never had to deal with the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would very much like to have an after school option that runs later than activities restored at Deal, but I don't appreciate the accusatory language in the petition.

It seems much more to me like the program needed to be sacrificed as the result of hard choices in austere times. Perhaps, since most Deal families are not experiencing the same level of austerity in their personal budgets, we can come up with a private solution that will still cost each of us less than individually contracted supervision.

While Deal does serve many wealthy families, I don't know that these are the ones using aftercare. The Deal families I know personally who choose Aftercare are OOB families who don't feel comfortable with their kids home in less safe neighborhoods, or with their kids commuting on public transportation. These families come from a range of economic circumstances.

A sliding scale seems like a reasonable compromise.

No, I don't think so. The public school is in loco parentis from 8-3 or whatever the school day is. That's what your tax dollars pay for. Before school care and aftercare should be entirely out of pocket of parents at market rates. Why should taxpayers pick up the tab just so two parents can work? Ridiculous.

You are obviously some kind of rich moron who has never had to deal with the real world.

Are you going to answer the question or hurl insults?

[Anonymous]

I agree that if parents think their middle school children need before of after care, parents should pay for it.

[Anonymous]

...and if the parents cannot afford it the PTA should step in and fund it, after all there's so few enrolled, right?

[Anonymous]

I have a child at Deal and raised issues about the afterschool program to the coordinaotr in the fall before she left and to the 6th grade asst principal in the fall and the spring. I had money set aside this year in the FSAfeds to pay for it. I was very concerned when I discovered it was free - because that meant to me that the minimum would be done - which it was.

While certain communications are regular at Deal such as the weekly newsletter from the administration, other communication among the parent community and to parents with students in the afterschool program just doesn't happen. For example, I had no idea which students were in the program, so I could be in touch with other parents. I just learned about the Deal yahoo group in June and could not find anyone to tell me there was a group to discuss issues. I am not looking for a handout, but there was not an easy, clear way to raise concerns about the program. And FWIW, my DC spent many years at the Murch afterschool program. We have to find a solution - it is not ok for my child to be home alone. And for those with younger kids - our kids were in the cohort where birthday cutoff was Dec 1, so yes - some kids could be 10 at the start of the school year.

[Anonymous]

...and if the parents cannot afford it the PTA should step in and fund it, after all there's so few enrolled, right?

Um, no, not necessarily. I suppose if the PTA wanted to fund grants for parents who couldn't afford it, that would be a good idea, but it isn't their obligation either. If parents want aftercare and can't afford the aftercare at Deal, they need to find another care option in their budget. After care isn't a right. I don't even think it is necessary in MS. But if you do, fine.

[Anonymous]

I pesonally don't want PTA dollars going to fund this.