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Families of incoming preschoolers are urging the Redwood City School District to make sure there’s enough space at on-campus afterschool-care programs for transitional kindergarteners.
During the district board meeting on March 12, families whose young children will be attending Orion Alternative School in the next academic year voiced their concern about an apparent lack of afterschool-care space but received assurances that RSCD officials are working through the issue.
“A TK spot without aftercare is not a real option for many of us,” parent Hai-Ching Yang said during the meeting. “I urge the board to open additional classrooms at the district’s facilities to accommodate all students and to arrange for the necessary janitorial services to support this expansion.”
Yang told the board that working families with young children depend on full daycare service on campus. Without it, she said, they are forced to consider a private preschool route.
Families want “to participate in Redwood City’s public school system,” she said, but “many of us cannot simply adjust our work schedules and transport four-year-olds off-site for care (as it) creates safety and logistical challenges, especially for the youngest school students in the district. My child will have just turned 4 (and) needs the consistency and security of staying on campus.”
Parents say another challenge is an age requirement of 4 years and 9 months for TK students to be eligible for after-school care.
“My daughter will be just over 4 years when she starts,” Noah Gasper said. “So there will be potentially no on-campus aftercare options for her. I don’t know what the right solution is to this but would love to get the board’s help in finding some options for her.”
RCSD Superintendent John Baker acknowledged that some parents have contacted the district about their TK afterschool-care concern and said officials are working toward a solution.
“Yes, we’ve received a lot of information (and) a lot of emails in regard to this issue,” Baker said during the meeting. The district is “fully committed to supporting the Orion Alternative Expanded Afterschool Program across the district. These programs are an extension of the school day, providing students with enrichment academic support, structured activities and not just supervision.”
The district has been coordinating with private afterschool-care providers at Orion – Catalyst Kids and the Mandarin-bilingual program PlayThrive – for “additional classroom spaces,” he said. The district is also considering renegotiating contracts for the additional custodial staff to back expanded services.
But Baker noted that complications remain.
“Many of our afterschool program partners are struggling to hire enough qualified employees to expand offerings,” he said. “Programs serving younger students such as TK require additional staffing due to specific licensing and ratio requirements.”
The district’s “custodial team operates under a union contract – which sets limits on work hours and responsibilities,” he added. “These are contractual obligations (that) the district must follow.”
Still, Baker said, the district remains “committed to finding solutions that balance program expansion with the operational realities of our facilities, staffing and contractual obligations.”
Another parent, Michelle Stroebe, appreciated the district’s efforts. “Thank you for continuing to work on this,” she said. “We do want to make sure that we have the space available so that the spots are able to be filled for the TK and the kindergarten parents.”
Families have also pushed the district to expand the popular Mandarin Immersion program at Orion. They seek additional space for a number of students placed on that program’s waiting list for the coming school year.
