Lupe Lucas is enthusiastic about how the Woodcraft Rangers after-school program at the Dewey Ave. Elementary School in Rosemead has benefited her son Miles. “Socialization, first off,” she says. “Plus he gets homework assistance. He has a speech impediment, and they watch out for him and make sure he’s not left out. They also get outdoor time and they get to choose activities.”

Miles’ program is funded by the state After School Education and Safety (ASES) program, which has started 1,800 new before- and after-school programs in the three years it has been operating.

Lucas plays an active role in making sure the program is working for Miles. When she picks him up, she says, “I sit down with (the staff), check in with them, let them know if there are problems. In the past we’ve had some issues because of my son’s speech impediment. But when kids treated him poorly, I always brought it up and they always nipped it in the bud.”

To make sure after-school programs meet their children’s needs, parents can do a variety of things (see sidebar) from participating to raising funds—and most importantly, like Lucas, communicating with program staff.

Variety of programs

After-school “is a confusing landscape,” says Darci Smith, executive director of the California School-Age Consortium. “Programs are funded in so many different ways: the state child care subsidy program, parent fees, ASES, 21st Century Learning Centers.”

And there are important differences in where programs are located, who can participate, what days they’re open, and the number and qualifications of staff (see below).

Benefits and challenges

With ASES, after-school programs are “being monitored more closely,” says Cathie Mostovoy of Woodcraft Rangers. Because they must include academic, recreational, fitness, and enrichment activities, “kids are getting more comprehensive services.”

And “it’s exciting that we’re serving so many more kids!” says Rocio Abundis-Rodriguez, who provides ASES training and technical assistance.

But these programs also face some real challenges.

Funding: ASES provides $7.50 per student per day from state funds—“not enough to provide the quality we like,” says Simon Lee, executive director of Growth and Learning Opportunities (GLO), which runs after-school programs in San Francisco. And it takes more resources, says Mostovoy, “to provide the things that keep kids coming back—quality programs, field trips, assemblies.”

Woodcraft Rangers, GLO, and other established agencies “have the ability to leverage resources” to supplement state funds, says Abundis-Rodriguez, but smaller programs may not.

Staffing: With the sudden increase in programs, recruiting and training enough staff has been the biggest challenge, says Abundis-Rodriguez, especially because “the pay is not great and you can get more consistent hours” in other jobs.

Academic pressure: “The California Depart-ment of Education has put more emphasis on academics,” says Abundis-Rodriguez. “The programs feel that pressure, yet they need to make the activities interesting enough to make kids want to come. Some programs take it so literally I feel sorry for the kids—they must feel like they’re still in school.”

High-quality programs like Woodcraft Rangers, says Mostovoy, provide “disguised learning,” teaching literacy and math through activities like cooking and sports. In GLO, says Lee, “kids are having fun—they don’t know they’re learning.” Projects “come straight from the kids. We ask the kids what they want to do.”

To make sure your child thrives after school

• Check out the programs: Visit, observe, ask questions (for a quality checklist, go to
  www.childcareaware.org/docs/pubs/105e.pdf or call 800-424-2246). “Sometimes I go early and stay with them and see what they do,” says Woodcraft Rangers mother Lupe Rubaltava.
  
  
• Volunteer: Joe Rodriguez, father of twin second-graders who attend Woodcraft Rangers in Rosemead, works construction, so “there are days when I’m not working. When they go on field trips, they let parents go and help. It’s great for me—I get to see what they do.”
  

Eugenie Carmona, whose fourth-grade son Arthur attends Woodcraft Rangers in Huntington Park, says “sometimes I have days off from work, so I’ve helped with Fridays, when they have special activities, like a carnival with different booths or movie night.”

• Participate: Kenia Gonzalez and her children recently joined other families, all in pajamas, at a Woodcraft Rangers family literacy night in Huntington Park. Lupe Rubaltava says the same program also holds family potlucks—“everybody gets together and brings things.”
  
  
• Contribute what you can: Rubaltava contributes ideas for children’s art projects. Lucas says “I find things on sale, like a box of pencils for 5 cents. I hit three or four sales, get all I can get, and give them to (the program).” At Fairmount, Lee says, some families can afford to pay, so GLO asks those parents to pay a fee of $3,000 a year.
  
  
• Help with fundraising: Parents at Fairmount School GLO “do whatever they can,” says program director Leah Garza. “When we have fundraising events they bring food.” The parents were also part of a successful 2-year effort to merge the ASES program with another supported by parent fees, says Lee. And they persuaded the school to contribute funds to the program.
  
  
• Speak up! Once, says Lucas, the children “watched a movie that to me was questionable. The leader wasn’t there. Later I brought it to her attention and it was addressed.”
  

“I’ve suggested stuff,” says Rodriguez, “and they listen to you. My suggestions are always for more communication between staff and parents.”

A few after-school programs have built in ways for parents to have a say. “Every month,” says Lee, “there’s a parent site council to plan events and give feedback.” Woodcraft Rangers holds regular “parent meetings so we can give our opinions,” says Lucas.

A comparison between State and federally funded after-school programs:

• ASES (state funds) and 21st Century Learning Centers (federal funds)
• California Dept. of Education child care subsidy program (CDE)

Where

• ASES: Priority is schools where more than half the students qualify for subsidized meals
• CDE: Can be anywhere

Who can attend

• ASES: Any student in the school
• CDE:Subsidies only for families with low and moderate incomes, but programs also include families paying fees

When

• ASES: Most programs operate only on school days
• CDE: Operate year-round including school vacations

Staff qualifications

• ASES: Meet each district’s requirements for instructional aide
• CDE: Meet state requirements for child development permits and/or Community Care Licensing standards

Child/adult ratio

• ASES: 20 to 1
• CDE: 14 to 1

Cost

• ASES: Free or sliding-scale fee, depending on the program
• CDE: Free or sliding-scale fee, depending on family income

For more info

• ASES: www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ba/as 916-319-0923
• CDE: Your local child care resource and referral agency. For the number, call 800-543-7793

Extra resources from the Children’s Advocate bulletin

• Afterschool Programs: Helping Kids Succeed in Rural America, from the After School Alliance, discusses challenges faced by families in rural areas and how afterschool programs help address rural needs.
  
  
• A Long-Term Evaluation of Afterschool Programming, from the National Afterschool Association, discusses the long-term benefits of the LA's Best Afterschool Program: Kids do better in school and commit fewer crimes.
  

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