FLEX for aftercare - impressions?

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[Post New]04/14/2023 09:31
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Anonymous
Our charter just announced that they're switching to FLEX as aftercare provider next year. Apparently they currently operate in a number of DC schools. Would appreciate hearing if anyone has experience with them.

https://flexacademies.com/

Thanks!
[Post New]04/14/2023 09:49
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Anonymous
In my experience they're no worse than the Y. If they will take the OSSE voucher then I think switching is a good idea.

They provide all the classes, so the school doesn't have to make those arrangements directly. That's a big advantage!
[Post New]04/14/2023 12:37
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Anonymous
The experience we had with them was truly horrendous. A lot of it was under staffing and this was last year when that was a citywide -- not just them -- problem. But... they were awful.

Many of the enrichments were excellent and it is useful that it's so turnkey. That said, they rip off teachers who want to provide enrichments (taking 20% from them and then upcharging parents another 25%, so that the teacher is taking home only about half of what the parents are being charged), so if you have any culture of that at your school... watch out.
[Post New]04/14/2023 16:07
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Anonymous
Also, a lot of people had poor experiences with them regarding pandemic camp cancellations and not being able to get their money back in a timely manner.
[Post New]04/14/2023 16:14
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Anonymous
I think it's equally as meh as YMCA, but if they're able to take the OSSE funding then that should be a significant benefit to families who qualify.
[Post New]04/14/2023 16:28
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Anonymous
I had no issue with the Y care, my kids love the staff. Curious why the switch after so many years.
[Post New]04/14/2023 16:29
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I had no issue with the Y care, my kids love the staff. Curious why the switch after so many years.


Because the new provider will take the OSSE voucher, so it's a significant cost cut to families, I believe. Also the Y wasn't providing on-site care over breaks, and that's something people wanted.
[Post New]04/14/2023 17:34
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I had no issue with the Y care, my kids love the staff. Curious why the switch after so many years.


Because the new provider will take the OSSE voucher, so it's a significant cost cut to families, I believe. Also the Y wasn't providing on-site care over breaks, and that's something people wanted.


Will Flex be covering the breaks?
[Post New]04/14/2023 18:40
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Also, a lot of people had poor experiences with them regarding pandemic camp cancellations and not being able to get their money back in a timely manner.


This. They totally gave me the runaround for something like 12 weeks. Check your billing and have no faith they will rectify an error.
[Post New]04/16/2023 22:18
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Transplant_1
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:The experience we had with them was truly horrendous. A lot of it was under staffing and this was last year when that was a citywide -- not just them -- problem. But... they were awful.

Many of the enrichments were excellent and it is useful that it's so turnkey. That said, they rip off teachers who want to provide enrichments (taking 20% from them and then upcharging parents another 25%, so that the teacher is taking home only about half of what the parents are being charged), so if you have any culture of that at your school... watch out.


At Hearst, the PTA used to run aftercare. As part of that, teachers taught great classes - handwriting, writing in cursive, jewelry-making, art, etc. They were paid by PTA funds. Alongside, there were classes run by vendors, for karate, ballet, etc. The teacher run classes were very good, and much cheaper, so they were always oversubscribed. So the PTA built a lottery system for the teacher-run classes, with a preference for a child that had not already had a chance to take a teacher run class. Once Flex took over, the teachers stopped teaching classes. I suspect it has to do with how they were reimbursing teachers, per the quoted poster. It was a huge loss. But the PTA didn't have enough volunteers to organize and run the after school program. Also, Flex's regular after care program (not enrichment, just watching kids) seems understaffed / not the most happiest of staff.

I used to be on the PTA, so was in the Hearst building after school for meetings or organizing stuff. So I got a chance to see the vendor run classes as I walked the hallways. Many of the vendor run classes were not very good. I think it's because parents do not observe, and so the usual quality control mechanism isn't there (for example as parents normally do for sports, or other type of classes, eg. dance studios where they could observe and meet the teacher.) Parents probbably can probably observe if they ask, but most kids are just picked up in the lobby. And, probably most parents are coming to pick up after work; and most parents probably think something is better than nothing.
[Post New]05/01/2023 16:40
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Anonymous
Annoyed that we got an email this morning with details about FLEX but registration opens at 5 pm THIS AFTERNOON. The info session isn't until 5/4. Would have appreciated a chance to ask questions and learn more before registering...
[Post New]05/01/2023 16:43
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Annoyed that we got an email this morning with details about FLEX but registration opens at 5 pm THIS AFTERNOON. The info session isn't until 5/4. Would have appreciated a chance to ask questions and learn more before registering...


Is there a limited supply of aftercare? At our school, the contract with FLEX required them to take everyone who enrolled for aftercare, so that's something your school could do. (Enrichments are different, obviously individual providers have caps for those, but FLEX central can't tell you anything useful about those classes anyway because they outsource all of them.)

Our school no longer has FLEX, thank goodness.
[Post New]05/01/2023 17:08
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Annoyed that we got an email this morning with details about FLEX but registration opens at 5 pm THIS AFTERNOON. The info session isn't until 5/4. Would have appreciated a chance to ask questions and learn more before registering...


Is there a limited supply of aftercare? At our school, the contract with FLEX required them to take everyone who enrolled for aftercare, so that's something your school could do. (Enrichments are different, obviously individual providers have caps for those, but FLEX central can't tell you anything useful about those classes anyway because they outsource all of them.)

Our school no longer has FLEX, thank goodness.


I wish I knew, that's why I am not sure if I can wait until after the Q&A or not. I hope they'll take everyone.
[Post New]05/01/2023 17:21
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Anonymous
I just enrolled and the process was pretty easy, though some parts of their form had not been updated to show the correct school year.

I was underwhelmed with FLEX at a different school, and I've been underwhelmed with YMCA too. So I suppose paying less in tuition for a program that is no worse is a win!
[Post New]05/02/2023 17:50
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I just enrolled and the process was pretty easy, though some parts of their form had not been updated to show the correct school year.

I was underwhelmed with FLEX at a different school, and I've been underwhelmed with YMCA too. So I suppose paying less in tuition for a program that is no worse is a win!


But it's barely cheaper. I guess it's a win for families on the voucher, but that's not most at this school.
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