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[Opinion submitted by Parents for Sudbury After-School Care Solutions]
Parents for Sudbury After-School Care Solutions started because of the silent cry that happens when a caregiver hears:
Your child is on the waitlist.
Only one of the four days requested is available.
The program doesn’t fit your child’s needs.
You can no longer work remotely.
And, the list goes on.
For many caregivers, the hours between the beginning of the school day and the end of the traditional workday leaves a gap, which has grown even wider with the change of school start time. With more and more families needing to return to the office for some or all of the weekdays, caregivers are juggling childcare more than they were before.
After-school care has become a topic of discussion around town, leading two Sudbury parents, Karyn Jones and Becky Chisholm, to try to do something about it. After researching 20 different towns, they discovered that yes, there are other towns doing a better job in supporting families’ after-school care needs, especially families with children in grades K-5. Communities who “solved” this problem got there by soliciting feedback from families and proactively bringing together different boards and commissions, current after-school care providers, and small businesses. Suddenly “that is not my purview” became “let’s solve this together.”
Now we are asking families who will have children in grades K-5 in the 2024-2025 school year to complete a community survey. The survey leverages questions of what was successful in other towns, modified based upon feedback we received from over 85 members of the community. This included Parks and Recreation, existing after-school programs like Sudbury Extended Day, families, and outside enrichment programs who wish to expand offerings.
The survey is composed of 21 questions. It is for families who do or do not currently utilize an existing after-school program. The purpose is to gain an accurate picture of what our community’s needs are. It takes less than 5-minutes to complete.
You can access the survey by visiting www.sudburyafterschoolsolutions.com.
The survey launched this past Tuesday, January 16, and 200-plus families have responded already. We are so thankful for your input and confidence. We will provide updates through our e-newsletter. You can sign-up for our e-newsletter through our website: www.sudburyafterschoolsolutions.com.