El Dorado County Office of Education starts school year with Extended Day Program full
EL DORADO COUNTY – As the school year kicks into high gear, many families rely on before and after-school programs to help with a buffer of pick-up and drop-off times.
El Dorado County Office of Education's Extended Day Program is already full and has a climbing waitlist.
Michael Gillespie, the Executive Director of the program, said it is offered for TK through eighth grade at campuses across the county. Staff is on campus as early as 7 a.m. and as late as 6 p.m.
"At the beginning of the year, we have a lottery process where we allow families and students to come in based on our total staffing and allocation," Gillespie said.
The program many parents rely on and have been a part of for several years is now on a waitlist.
"Families who were in last year did receive priority, however, even when they were on site last year, if we lost a staff member, we can only admit that number," Gillespie said.
He said they are calculating daily how many students and how often they're using the service and if anyone on the waitlist can be let in.
Gillespie said there hasn't been an increase in student population per se, but there is a staffing need.
"We started the year with more than 20 vacancies. If we filled all of those vacancies, we would probably be able to pull all of the kids off the waitlist," Gillespie said.
Monica Elderd has two children and works from home.
She said although she has the flexibility to be with her children, the lack of childcare options in the county is scary.
"I think it's important that this issue is finally starting to come to light because it is a really big problem with people having to work really hard to support their families," Elderd said.
El Dorado Christian Preschool in Placerville will open its doors for the first time on Aug. 19 for kids aged 2-5.
The director, Michelle Porter, said they saw the need for extended care, so they will offer the option to keep kids until 5:30 p.m.
"That's why we wanted to do the after-school care option. We did have regular day end at 3 just to give that buffer for those who are on the other campus and going at the same time," Porter said.
Gillespie said they are updating families weekly on their status on the waitlist for the Extended Day Program.
"We know how important this service is to our families and we are working diligently to try and get all families off the waitlist," Gillespie said.
El Dorado Christian Preschool still has spots available. They are located on the campus of El Dorado Adventist School. For more information on enrolling, click here.
