After care providers-how satisfied are you?

[Anonymous]

I'm curious to know if people are generally happy with how before and/or after care at their elementary school is working out. Is the staff professional? Do they have any activities? Or Is it strictly babysitting? I'd love to know how much people pay per month and what company provides the service if anybody is willing to share. Thanks for any info!

[Anonymous]

We pay $270 per month and are so pleased with the aftercare at our MoCo public school. DC does not want to leave at the end of the day, they strive to have a number of different activities and even provide a bit of an educational component by having a couple of different "units" of study per year. They also provide care when the school has early dismissal days. The director is a professional and has a way with the kids -- the staff seem to genuinely like kids.

[Anonymous]

We're thinking of moving from a private to MCPS. The after care seems pretty expensive. For before and after school care five days a week it is $735. per month. Seems like a lot to me. For just after care it is $520. School doesn't start until 9:00 which makes getting to work in DC pretty tough if you don't use before care. We are currently paying about $1200. per month for a private (with FA) so with after care we'd only be paying about $465. more than public. Seems kind of crazy. Our current school starts earlier and the kids have free study hall after school.

[Anonymous]

My kids go to MCPS and we use a private before/aftercare that drops off and picks up from the school. The advantage of this is that our program is open even when school is not so I don't have to have other care available. Our before/aftercare provides breakfast and a substantial afterschool snack (like hamburgers, sloppy joes, spaghetti, pancakes, pizza, tacos, etc.). If school lets out early unexpectedly like last Friday, the before/aftercare picks my kids up so I don't have to leave work. Our cost is $120 per week for before care, aftercare and school days off. Discounts are available if you pay by credit card and/or have multiple kids in the program.

Our program offers clubs like cooking club, homework club, reading club (which is great because it can be hard to get in the required 30 minutes per night at home), science club, etc. Once my oldest hit third grade, there is homework time, outside time, computer time, and sometimes a movie. For the younger kids, they actually do very little homework.

[Anonymous]

New poster here.

Poster 08: 45: Thank you for your input. Would you mind telling the name of the private before/after care organisation? We are debating K admission in private vs. MoCo. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

8:45 here. My kids go to Colesville Center, which is in upper northeast MoCo. The easiest way to find the ones that do drop off and pick up at your school is to call the elementary school principal. In addition to Colesville, there is a karate program that does pick up at our school and days off, but not before care. When you decide on a program, make sure you enroll early. Depending on where you live, the programs get filled long before school starts. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Why is the B/C and A/C cost SO different depending on school??? I am surprised!
At my kid's school, it is close to $500 per month for B/C and A/C.
I think it is much cheaper in VA in general. (No more than $300?)
If you don't like the provider at your school, you have to send your kid to a day care center or something, which I'm not sure is a good choice for older kids.
Any other suggestions?