We have before and aftercare in our PG county school. I also know of daycares that provide before and aftercare as well as transportation too or from school. An example would be Celebree in Bowie.
PG county is beyond broke right now. They are $150mil in the hole and making cuts left and right. Last I heard there will no longer be any buses running to special schools (like the French or Tag school) and the traveling art teacher only hits each school once a quarter. Last quarter he was sick so my kids haven't had an art class since October.

Anonymous wrote:It's not the school system's responsibility to provide childcare. They are there to EDUCATE not BABYSIT!!!!!

But in this county, they DO provide a school system run aftercare, which has a monopoly on the program offered.

The thing is, they probably don't want to make this informatino widely known. If your site currently has, say, 38 kids enrolled in the BASELP they probably would rather try to get more kids to enroll so they can keep the program, rather than let parents know there's a different (maybe better) but more expensive (lsightly) program that could come instead.

If your school has only 10 kids interested in the BASELP it's probably easier to get the BASELP people to OK you bringing in one of the outside vendors.

What I think is really weird is that it is the BASELP people -- the ones who are running their own program -- who seem to be in charge of deciding which schools can bring in an outside vendor.

Conflict of interest anyone?

It's not the school system's responsibility to provide childcare. They are there to EDUCATE not BABYSIT!!!!!

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure that if it was as easy as "we want springboard" then they would be at more schools. As I understand it the RFP for springboard was written for specific schools, not the county at large.

No, I think the RFP was for the vendor to come to the county. I think Springboard started at 4 schools but since has opened three more.

Again -- this is what Whitehead said to the OP:

Anonymous wrote:

We do have vendors that are working with smaller programs. If a school community wishes to establish a program they talk to our Before and Aftercare and they will be referred to the appropriate vendor. Programs are established as a community/school has a desire for one and they must be licensed for a certain capacity……..The vendors were and will not be assigned sites based on 45.

I'm pretty sure that if it was as easy as "we want springboard" then they would be at more schools. As I understand it the RFP for springboard was written for specific schools, not the county at large.

Kidsco as you mentioned OP looks like it might be $470 a month for before and aftercare combined.

http://www.kidscoonline.com/before-after-school-programs/about-before-after-school-programs/

A PP again -- the county program is only about $300 a month -- I thought it was more than that!

How can that program even stay in business? Even with 45 kids in the program?

By comparison, Springboard is about $400 a month but you only have to pay for the days or mornings/ afternoons you need so it might be less than that.

http://www.springboardafterschool.com/springboard-schools/maryland/imagine-school-upper-marlboro

Springboard's program is staffed by certified teachers.

Alphabest looks like it would be about $360/month. No mention of hiring certified teachers:

http://www.alphabest.org/registration.cfm

I think you could probably easily get either program at your child's school next year if you don't currently have an aftercare. Bringing in a new program would be harder.

The RFP is a Request for Proposal. Ask for a copy of the current contracts. You might have to do a MPIA request. (Maryland public information act)

Anonymous wrote:

(Dr. Whitehead) There was an RFP process for vendors to be accepted to do Before and Aftercare in the County. Those proposals were awarded. In the event we do another RFP other vendors are welcome to apply. We cannot accept vendors at random. We do have vendors that are working with smaller programs. If a school community wishes to establish a program they talk to our Before and Aftercare and they will be referred to the appropriate vendor. Programs are established as a community/school has a desire for one and they must be licensed for a certain capacity……..The vendors were and will not be assigned sites based on 45.

OP based on the above, I think you could call the office of before and after school and ask to be referred to the appropriate vendor -- you do NOT need to have 45 kids interested at the school in order to get either of those vendors established.

however if you have a different vendor in mind, you will probably need them to be able to provide before and after care at a similar price point as the county aftercare. How much do most vendors in MCPS charge? Isn't it a lot more than $350/month?

OP, my understanding is that the county was specifically looking for private aftercare programs who could match the county programs on price.

The county - run programs are quite cheap (I think it is $350/month for full before and aftercare) and very very few vendors can match that price.

My guess is it is some kind of 'equity" thing -- the county doesn't want to have awesome, but more expensive aftercare programs at some schools, and mediocre but cheap ones, at other schools.

What drives me crazy is that if there aren't 45 kids in need of aftercare at a school, the thought process is, "We guess there's no demand for aftercare at this school" and not "we guess there's no demand for the mediocre county-run aftercare program at this school."

If the after care program were to be better, chances are good more people would choose that program!

to a different PP -- yes, the schools do have a lot of buses and vans that come and transport kids to private aftercare centers off site. These have no connection to the school district or county.

Good luck. Common sense in the PG school board/district is quite rare. We ended up moving out after some other concerns.

In other counties that's true but PG is "special". They run their own program but if you can't meet their numbers (45 kids) they cancel the county run program. They put out a request for proposals for specific schools (4) that had programs and a few more specialty programs but based on what they've told me they have no intention of allowing more proposals to be posted as is done in Montgomery. They say that they will not cancel currently run programs (67) but they don't say anything about how parents can get programs in the 64 schools that don't have them. Also, I know from my local PTA that their first solution to a current program that falls before 45 is to start busing the kids to schools out of the area. Not sure why a kidnergardener needs to be bused twice a day to go to a school 1 block from the house. Here's more from my conversation (emails) with Dr. Whitehead, Director of Curriculum and Instruction...

(Dr. Whitehead) There was an RFP process for vendors to be accepted to do Before and Aftercare in the County. Those proposals were awarded. In the event we do another RFP other vendors are welcome to apply. We cannot accept vendors at random. We do have vendors that are working with smaller programs. If a school community wishes to establish a program they talk to our Before and Aftercare and they will be referred to the appropriate vendor. Programs are established as a community/school has a desire for one and they must be licensed for a certain capacity. Please le tus know if we can assist further.

(Me) Besides the county run program, who are these vendors? Also, where can find a copy of this RFP?

(Dr. Whitehead) Purchasing can share with you. We no longer have any RFPs for vendors open. Thanks so much!!!

(Me) You did not answer my question. You have stated that there are other vendors that can run aftercare in the case that there are not 45 students registered at a particular school. I am asking who these vendors are. Since I was referred to you by Dr. Hite I am assuming you are qualified to answer this question. If not, give me the contact information for the person who is qualified to answer that question.

(Dr. Whitehead) My apologies. The vendors were and will not be assigned sites based on 45. The first RFP was for four sites and the vendor is SPringBoard and the last RFP was for specialty programs with no existing programs (AlphaBest). We have no other vendors and no other RFPs proposed. Before and After Care is able to maintain all current sites. Have a wonderful Day. If you have any additional questions about the vendors or the RFP process, Ms. Brenda Allen in purchasing is happy to assist.

(Me) So what you are saying is that if a school that currently does not have aftercare (49% of the elementary schools) and does not have 45 students ready to register wants an aftercare program that a new RFP must be opened?

(Dr. Whitehead) If a site wants a program they will work with our Before and AfterCare to build a program. The capacity of the site is determined by the Office of Childcare of Prince George's County. . The RFPs were issued to solve certain circumstances. We do not anticipate any future RFPs but if there are ones to be issued you should get listed as a vendor with purchasing and you will be sent a notice.

(Me) I am not asking for notice of future RFPs. I am asking how these decisions are made and by whom. Let me give you a hypothetical. There are 13 students requiring before and aftercare at a public elementary school that does not currently have a program. Will those parents be told YES or NO to have a program at their school (Not bused to another location). If you (or Ms Bonanni) don't know the answer please give me the contact information for the person who knows the answer.

(Dr. Whitehead) The school must begin with our Before and After care office if they
wish to establish a program. They will take them through the
process£. It is not a simple yes or no. Thanks for reaching out.

Really, they don't even have those daycares that drop off and pick up after school? I thought everywhere had those.

Did you know that out of 131 elementary schools in PG, 64 have no before and aftercare available. That’s 49%!! (http://schools.pgcps.org/) That means that if there are at least 200 kids in each of those schools 12,800 kids have no aftercare available. Besides that more programs are falling apart because they cannot meet the minimum criteria to operate set by PG school system.


These are the reason as far as I’ve been able to find out…..
As the only school system administered school age child care program in Maryland, it is the goal of the Prince George’s County Public School System to provide a safe, enriching environment for Prince George’s County elementary school students. All sites require a minimum of 45 registrations to begin operations. (http://www1.pgcps.org/beforeandafterschoolelp/index.aspx?id=10042)

Per my emails with the administration as to why smaller programs cannot be set up….
(Dr. Hite) We developed a Request for Proposal (RFP) for sites that were already closed or in the process of being closed by PGCPS BASELP for low enrollment. A vendor, Springboard, was selected and began operating four sites in January 2011…Enrollments must stay above 45 students to be financially viable.


(Dr. Whitehead) There was an RFP process for vendors to be accepted to do Before and Aftercare in the County. Those proposals were awarded. In the event we do another RFP other vendors are welcome to apply. We cannot accept vendors at random. We do have vendors that are working with smaller programs. If a school community wishes to establish a program they talk to our Before and Aftercare and they will be referred to the appropriate vendor. Programs are established as a community/school has a desire for one and they must be licensed for a certain capacity……..The vendors were and will not be assigned sites based on 45. The first RFP was for four sites and the vendor is SPringBoard and the last RFP was for specialty programs with no existing programs (AlphaBest). We have no other vendors and no other RFPs proposed. Before and After Care is able to maintain all current sites. Have a wonderful Day. If you have any additional questions about the vendors or the RFP process, Ms. Brenda Allen in purchasing is happy to assist.

Did you know..
-Although Montgomery County Public Schools do not have a county run before and aftercare program they have several highly praised programs permitted to run before and aftercare in the public elementary schools.
-There is an ongoing open bid process in Montgomery County when a school is in need of a before and after school program.

Example: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/cupf/info/childcare.asp#childcareintro
• NOTICE
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
Before and After-School Childcare Services
• Montgomery County Government’s Office of Community Use of Public Facilities seeks applications from qualified organizations, businesses or individuals to provide licensed before and after-school childcare services in a Montgomery County Public School (ES#29) to open for the 2012-2013 school year at 2600 Hayden Dr., Silver Spring, MD, the former site of:

-These programs are able to scale up and down staffing levels according to the demand in individual schools.
Examples:
Academy Child Development Center, Inc.: currently in 6 montgomery county public schools, requires a minimum 20 kids to start a program
Kidsco: currently in 16 montgomery public elementary, requires a minimum of 12 kids to start a program

Personally I think if it’s good enough for Montgomery parents its good enough for us!!! If you agree you can find your school board rep here....

http://www1.pgcps.org/board/