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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4.02 Afterschool Program' • ~ . ~ , CITY OF DUBLIAi AGE1dDA STATEAqEIdT CITY COUNCIL TKEETING DATE: lbiay 28, 1991 SUBJECT . EXHIBITS ATTACHED . RECOP~IENDATION ~ . . FI1dAATCIAL STATF..F7IEIdT . Afterschool Recre_',.tion Program Procedures Report by Diane L~.~wart, Recreation Director Parent Letter • Receive Report None DESCRIPTIOAT . At the May 14, 1991 meeting of the Dublin City Council, the Council received a complaint from Dublin resident Carolyn Vance regarding the Afterschool Playground Program. Specifically, Mrs. Vance expressed concern about children being left unattended on the school grounds after program hours. For the past six years, the City's Recreation Department has sponsored an Afterschool Recreation Program at Murray and Nielsen Schools. The program is a drop-in recreation program that meets Monday through Friday from 1:45-5:00 p.m., with the exception af Gity holidays and school minimum days or holidays. The program is intended to provide a safe, supervised drop-in program that features a structured schedule of recreation activities. The program is not designed as a"day care" program. There is a$10.00 registration fee per session, and upon registration, parents receive a copy of the attached letter which explains the policies and procedures for the program. As explained in the parent letter, participants in the program are free to attend and leave the program at any time during the program hours. It is stressed to parents that they be prompt in picking up their children by 5:Q0 p.m. If this is not possible, it is recommended that arrangements be made for the child to walk home, go to a neighbors, etc. During Staff training and orientation, the issue of children being left unattended is discussed and Staff are instructed to handle these situations in the following manner: 1. Become aware of the "coming and goings" of program participants; try to become familiar with the routine each participant follows with regards to leaving the program at the end of each day. 2. If a child has not been picked-up at 5:d0 p.m., have the child wait with you while you clean and close up the facility. 3. If a parent has not arrived to pick-up their child by the time the facility is locked for the day, one staff inember is to escort the child to the front of the school and wait with them until a parent arrives. At that time the staff inember will remind the parent about the program hours and suggest that other arrangements be made if they are to be consistently late in picking up their child. Although these situations occur fairly infrequently, Staff are directed to use their best judgement in datermining if a child needs to be supervised while waiting for a parent. Under no circurnstances would a child be left unsupervised who displayed anxiety or who indicated that they should have been picked up. As participants are required to provide phone numbers for parents as well as an emergency contact, an effort would be made to reach a someone in the event that a parent was delayed far more than one-half hour. As a result of Mrs. Vances' complaint, a review of the aforementioned procedures took place at the weekly meeting of the Afterschool Recreation Staff. ---------- ---------------------------------------------------------- ITEI~[ IdO. COPIES TO: Carolyn Vance ~:~~ 9s ~ --30 • ~ DUBLIN RECREATION DEPARTMENT AFTERSCHOOL RECREATION PROGR~I Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s): Welcome to the 1991 session of the Afterschool Recreation program. I am pleased that you have chosen to participate i:n this program and hope that you have a positive experience with our department. To help you understand how our program operates, please take a few minutes to read this letter. Please sign at the appropriate place on the attached sheet and-ret~rn to the leaders' at your childs' site, indicating to us that you have read and understand our program. The Afterschool Recreation Program is a drop-in program that meets Monday through Friday from 1:45-5:00 p.m., with no program being held on minimum days or city and school holidays. Because the program is a drop-in program, our participants are free to attend and leave the program at any time during program hours. Each child takes the responsibility of not leaving the program site until the time designated by you, the parent/guardian. Staff cannot prevent a child from leaving the site. The 1991 Session runs from January 7- June 7. During tne 1991 Session, please remember to update registration forms with new information. This will help us to ensure that we have current medical information on file for each participant. Each site will be supervised by at least two recreation leaders. Each staff inember is required to possess a current CPR and First Aid card to deal with injuries or medical emergencies. Activity calendars will be distributed monthly at your childs' school; additional copies .will be available at the program site as well. Please note that all activities are subject to change.. Some of the activities that your child will be participating in include games, arts and crafts, athletics, cooking projects, local excursions, special events and more. Program participants will occasionally be asked to bring 50~ or a specific item for a cooking project or special craft. On dates that off-site eYCUrsions are offered, there will be no program on site that day. The first hour and 15 minutes of program will be for homework, board games and supervised, unstructured activities. Organized activities wi11 begin at 3:00 p.m., when a11 students have been ciismissed from class. All children attencing the days prcgram will be expected to participate in the activities planned for t:~at aay. ~. ~ ~ The Afterschool Recreation Program is conducted by the Dublin Recreation Department, not the school at which it is held. Please aadress all questions, comments and concerns to the program staff at the site, or call the Recreation office at 829-4932. Program sta~r is on site from 1:45-5:00 p.m. on program days. Please be prompt in picking up your child at 5:00 p.m. as there will be no leaders on site after that time. If you will be unable to pick-up your child at that time, please make other arrangements with him/her, i.e. walk home, go to a neighbors house. etc. Please make sure that your child is aware of these arrangements. Please be sure that your child wears "Activity appropriate" clothing for activities such as painting, working with clay, active movements, etc. This includes closed-toed shoes that allow for running and games and clothes that can get dirty. Participants are welcome to bring smocks to program to wear during crafts. Children are encouraged to bring a snack and cold , drink each day. : We stress a fun yet safe program for our participants. In order ~ to ensure that this happens, we have established the following program rules. Please take a few minutes to go over these rules with your child(ren) to be sure that they understand what will be expected of them. RULES 1) Abusive, profane or indecent language is not allowed. 2) Bicycles and skateboards are not to be ridden on the -. playground and school grounds. 3) Running is not allowed inside school f acilities. 4) Roughhousing, kicking, hitting, wrestling and pushing are , not allowed. ' 5) Climbing on school buildings and fences is not allowed. 6) Participants must sign-in when they arrive and sign-out~ when they depart. ~ 7) Participants are required to clean-up after themselves. 8) Play equipment must be used properly, i.e. no standing on the swings or sliding head-first on the slide. ~~ 9) Parent(s)/guardian(s) may be liable for any damage their child does to property and equipment.-~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ 10) All designated school and park rules are to be followed. In a discipline situation, our goal is to work with a participant to encourage positive decision making. Program participants are informed about program rules and procedures; these rules are reinforced by the Recreation Leaders as needed through ' disciplinary measures such as verbal warnings, time-outs and written sentences. Tf a participant in having a bad day and is not responding to these techniques, he/she will be asked to leave the program for the remainder of the day. If this does occur, a parent will be notified so they can choose to pick-up thEir child or be informed that their child will be walking home. Again, we ask you to sign at the appropriate location on the attached form and return it to your childs' ~~eaders on the first day your child attends program. Thanks for being a part of our program. For any questions, comments or concerns, please contact Tracy at 829-4932. Sl cerely, ( L~C~ ~~ ~~c..~'~, - Tracy O'Shea - Recreation Supervisor ~ ~ CITY OF DUBLIN RECRE:ITION DEPARTTIENT P.O. BOX 2340, DUBLIN CA, 94568 415/~29-4932 AFTERSCHOOL RECREATION PARENT LETT~R ACKNOWLEDG~tENT FORM This form must be returned to the Recreation Leaders on site or before your child's first day of program. I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE INFORrIATION PROVIDED IN THE AFTER~ SCHOOL RECREATION PROGRANI. Parent/Guardian Signature Date Child`s Name Site