Aftercare enrichment options (elementary)

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to help our T1 elementary school get better aftercare options. Does anyone have any experience getting an enrichment program into a school? How much does it cost for 1 or 2 days per week?

[Anonymous]

In my experience, the biggest impediment is that in a T1 school, it's a bit difficult to have sort of two programs--one for the affluent kids whose parents can spend money for classes, and another for the kids whose parents aren't shelling out extra money. One way to do this is for the PTA to step in and fund spots. And there are certain community programs that will come and do partnerships with schools (e.g., DC scores). But you really have to decide (you meaning your school's admin) whether you are okay having a pretty expensive enrichment option, and if so, who is going to pay. The language classes that you see at, e.g., the richer schools in upper NW, might be harder to bring to a T1 school.

[Anonymous]

Please send in all options. We are looking to fundraise so that all students can participate. But we need ideas for programs and info on cost.

[Anonymous]

Capital Language Services (I think they do language and dance, or gymnastics or something), Isabelle and Ferdinand (language classes), DC Scores (soccer and maybe poetry), scouts, Girls on the Run. There are others, I'd suggest you look up the T1 schools around you, and google their aftercare offerings to see what partnerships they have and get more ideas. I know other schools will try to get teachers involved in afterschool programs -- there must be a stipend either from the PTA or there may be some funds from the district for this sort of thing. I also know at some schools, parents will volunteer to organize a club (e.g., a weekly gardening club).

Best of luck!!

[Anonymous]

I'm really really proud of the enrichment program my friend built at our T1 school. It has been a really big gift to the school. I would be happy to answer questions about it if needed. The program is built for ECE-2nd grade (because we had plenty of options for older grades), every kid in aftercare goes twice a week, regardless of if they pay. Options rotate throughout the year, but kids don't opt in on out. It has been actually really helpful because it has introduced my kids to things that they wouldn't necessarily "sign up for". Costs are covered by grants and parent payments.

https://payneelementary.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/payne-2020-2021-enrichment-letter-sept-2021.pdf

https://paynedc.org/payne-elementary-school/curriculum/after-school-programs/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please send in all options. We are looking to fundraise so that all students can participate. But we need ideas for programs and info on cost.

Before you look into this, be sure that fundraising the money is a realistic possibility.

Does your school currently have a strong PTO with a good cohort of families involved? Do they have a track record of events already done in the past and have proven they can raise X amount of money?

If the answer to above is no, then chances are small you will be successful. Our IB title 1 school has a skeleton crew for PTO and raises maybe a few thousand a year at best. There would be no way there is manpower to raise money to support free programming for the majority of families at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please send in all options. We are looking to fundraise so that all students can participate. But we need ideas for programs and info on cost.

Before you look into this, be sure that fundraising the money is a realistic possibility.

Does your school currently have a strong PTO with a good cohort of families involved? Do they have a track record of events already done in the past and have proven they can raise X amount of money?

If the answer to above is no, then chances are small you will be successful. Our IB title 1 school has a skeleton crew for PTO and raises maybe a few thousand a year at best. There would be no way there is manpower to raise money to support free programming for the majority of families at the school.

I need to know what the general cost is so I can figure out if it is realistic. The post about the other t1 school was helpful. How much did that cost?

[Anonymous]

Ludlow-Taylor has an amazing in-house enrichments program. It's run by an ECE teacher and staffed primarily by L-T teachers/aides. Teachers set their own pricing & must give away a certain number of slots per session. The PTO pays for additional slots at-cost.

https://www.ludlowtaylor.org/enrichmentsclubs.html

[Anonymous]

^^ The L-T program is expanding to Van Ness (a T1) this year, so maybe worth reaching out to that PTA (or to L-T's PTO or the Future Stars program directly) to find out how that worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please send in all options. We are looking to fundraise so that all students can participate. But we need ideas for programs and info on cost.

Before you look into this, be sure that fundraising the money is a realistic possibility.

Does your school currently have a strong PTO with a good cohort of families involved? Do they have a track record of events already done in the past and have proven they can raise X amount of money?

If the answer to above is no, then chances are small you will be successful. Our IB title 1 school has a skeleton crew for PTO and raises maybe a few thousand a year at best. There would be no way there is manpower to raise money to support free programming for the majority of families at the school.

I need to know what the general cost is so I can figure out if it is realistic. The post about the other t1 school was helpful. How much did that cost?

I am not sure what all the costs were related to it, but I can help you figure it out. Can you fill out a question related to this on the Payne PTSA contact form here and i'll help get you connected? https://paynedc.org/payne-elementary-school/ptsa/

[Anonymous]

Just go to a charter school and be done with it. Our school offers an enrichment aftercare run by the school with our teachers, aides, and staff. It’s great. It’s open to all and offers a sliding scale for low income families.

It’s ridiculous that you can’t offer paying enrichment in addition to free aftercare babysitting at the same time. Families should have options to take the free aftercare or pay for enrichment at the school. It’s BS that just because all kids can’t have enrichment that none of the kids can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just go to a charter school and be done with it. Our school offers an enrichment aftercare run by the school with our teachers, aides, and staff. It’s great. It’s open to all and offers a sliding scale for low income families.

It’s ridiculous that you can’t offer paying enrichment in addition to free aftercare babysitting at the same time. Families should have options to take the free aftercare or pay for enrichment at the school. It’s BS that just because all kids can’t have enrichment that none of the kids can.

We prefer our dcps. Nearby charters like Mundo Verde don't seem any better. Maybe charters have better aftercare but our primary interest is good academics and a well run school during the day. Also it is ridiculous not to make a real attempt to offer quality enrichment to everyone in a school.

[Anonymous]

Lafayette offers enrichment classes from Flex: https://flexacademies.com/

[Anonymous]

School admin have access to a list of vendors who are already approved by DCPS. It is a time consuming and expensive process that many partners don't want to do, so choosing from that list is easiest. Enrichments are a lot of work and require lots of layers of approval.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go to a charter school and be done with it. Our school offers an enrichment aftercare run by the school with our teachers, aides, and staff. It’s great. It’s open to all and offers a sliding scale for low income families.

It’s ridiculous that you can’t offer paying enrichment in addition to free aftercare babysitting at the same time. Families should have options to take the free aftercare or pay for enrichment at the school. It’s BS that just because all kids can’t have enrichment that none of the kids can.

We prefer our dcps. Nearby charters like Mundo Verde don't seem any better. Maybe charters have better aftercare but our primary interest is good academics and a well run school during the day. Also it is ridiculous not to make a real attempt to offer quality enrichment to everyone in a school.

No the equity at all cost, especially at T1 schools, will affect everything especially academics and classroom management. Get back to us when your kid is in upper elementary.

The aftercare issue is just one micro-representation of it.