Public School-Operated Before- and/or After-School Programs

To:Superintendents of Schools and Charter School Leaders
From:David P. Driscoll, Commissioner of Education
Date:May 21, 2007
The demand and interest in before- and after-school programs for children and youth in the Commonwealth is growing. Many working families are seeking these programs to address childcare needs as well as to provide educational and enrichment opportunities for their children beyond the traditional school day. The Department is working to compile an inventory of before- and/or after-school programs that are operated by public schools. The intent of this inventory is to identify where gaps in services occur. The data collected will be coordinated with information the Department of Early Education and Care has on non-public school operated programs. The information gathered will also be shared with the newly formed legislative Massachusetts After-School and Out-of-School Time Commission, which was formed to develop recommendations for the Governor and Legislature on ways to improve and expand after-school and out-of-school time opportunities for children. To gather this information, we have developed an online registration survey instrument.
  1. For the purposes of this survey, we are defining a public school operated before- or after-school program as one that meets all of the following three criteria:
    • operated by a public school district;
    • provides before- and/or after-school programs for a consistent group of children ages 3 through 14, or any subgroup within that age group; and
    • provides a planned daily program of activities and is responsible for children for specific blocks of time during the week, usually four - five days a week and two to four hours each day, over the school year or the full calendar year.
    Please note: 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) programs that meet these three criteria do not need to register since the Department already maintains grant information for these programs.
  2. For the purposes of this survey, a public school operated before- and after-school program is NOT:
    • a program run by a private entity using school space (e.g., a program operated by a YMCA that rents space from the school system); or
    • a drop-in program where students are not expected to attend for a consistent amount of time and/or schedule; or
    • a Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) licensed child-care program (to find out if a program site is licensed by EEC, go to www.eec.state.ma.us);
    • a school club or athletic program; or
    • Supplemental Education Services (SES) or other tutoring service; or
    • an Expanded Learning Time (ELT) program providing a longer school day/year for all students in the school;
    • a full-day kindergarten program.
To provide information on public school operated before- and after-school programs, districts should respond to the online survey indicating whether or not they operate a before- or after-school program that meets all of the criteria in Section I. The registration form can be accessed, completed, and submitted at: http://vessunapp3.doe.mass.edu/surveys/take.do?n=1427354446. For districts that do operate a before- or after-school program, one registration form should be completed for each site within the district. If you have registered your program with the Department in prior school years, please re-register it at this time so that the Department will have updated information. Registration forms should be submitted electronically by Wednesday, June 6, 2007. If you have any questions, please contact Donna Traynham at 781-338-6372 or dtraynham@doe.mass.edu. Thank you for your attention to this matter.



Last Updated: May 23, 2007



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