KENT, Conn.—The After School Program Subcommittee discussed what form the program might take in the future when it met April 9. It will launch a survey in coming weeks to seek input from parents about what they want and need from such a program.
“We need to make sure parents and the community fill out the survey, so we hear their voices,” said committee member Ginger Blake.
The subcommittee of the Parks and Recreation Commission was formed after Parks and Recreation considered terminating ASP at the end of this fiscal year. ASP is held school days at Kent Center School but an average of only five or six children have attended per day this school year and the commission estimates it loses about $20,000 a year on its operation.
When news of the closure was reported, parents were alarmed and the commission included funding for a pared down program in the 2026-27 budget proposal. Meanwhile, a subcommittee was formed to try to formulate a plan to continue the service for working families.
Its chair, Claire Love, said she has engaged with organizations in town about different models that might be employed, including charging more for the the current program, having different organizations in town collaborate to provide the service on different days, and vesting the responsibility for the program completely with another agency.
Blake said she did not believe a blended program, where the children went to different locations, would be easy to implement.
Educator Joanne Wasti, who founded the Curiosity Lab at Kent Center School in 2022, agreed. “The hybrid model is lot of handing off of responsibility for the children,” she said. “If it’s Parks & Rec, you have a person in charge. If it’s going to another site, then someone has to get them there—there’s a lot of room to fall through the cracks. It almost scares me a little bit. There should be some overarching supervision.”
Love said it could be two or three organizations combining efforts to make it work. “It could be the Curiosity Lab and Park and Rec, the library when it reopens in its new children’s room, or the three nurseries. We need to think it through and decide what makes sense.”
Committee members contemplated why so few children attend the after-school program conducted by Parks and Rec. They said that some working parents send their children to ASP because they need safe care for their children after school, but that other parents may seek programs that offer more content.
“What is a cool version of the program where people feel really fortunate to send their kids?” pondered Blake, who speculated that an extended version of the existing model could offer age-specific options that younger attendees would be “excited to age into.”
At present, children attending ASP tend to be the younger students at KCS with older children moving out of the program.
Cinda Clark, a newcomer who currently serves on the Board of Education, said the survey should show what parents are willing to pay for and what they want the program to do. She commented on how important “informal networks” are, where parents collaborate with each other or family members to provide after-school supervision.
“It’s a fabulous and nice thing about living in small town, but new residents don’t have those networks and need more formal support. What would parents find of value in a more formal program?” she asked.
Love noted that attendance at ASP declined somewhat after Curiosity Lab opened. “That indicates people went for a high-quality program,” she said. “Some parents most value quality and there are others who just need the care. What the needs are would determine why we follow one or the other of those models.”
They considered whether price might be a deterrent to enrollment, with Blake saying, “I don’t know how reducing costs will solve anything.”
The current rate is $13 a day, which does not cover costs.
Conversely, the Curiosity Lab charges $125 for multi-lesson enrichment programs such as STEM projects and theater and dance workshops held in partnership with Sharon Playhouse.
The mission statement for the Curiosity Lab says it is a nonprofit that “provides high quality enrichment opportunities to the children of Kent so that they can discover their full potential and continue a lifetime of unbridled curiosity.”
“Sometimes if the price is too low people don’t see it as valuable,” said Wasti. “But then you want people to be able to afford it.”
She said cost is never a barrier to Curiosity Lab programs. “Sometimes we have a program that we have to charge for, but there is no barrier to access,” she said. “So far, it’s worked. It wouldn’t work if no one paid, but basically we ask, ‘Can you pay the full amount,’ ‘Can you pay part,’ or ‘At this point I cannot pay.’ We also ask parents if they want to pay for another child or give a donation. It’s a ‘it takes a village feel’ and we have some really generous parents.”
Clark noted that the after-school program in Salisbury is a nonprofit. “They get funding from all the major funders,” she reported. “It gives it more freedom to look for funders.”
Parks and Rec Director Matt Frasher said fundraising for a municipal program is “a little swampy,” but said he would look into the legal parameters.
He reported that he has perennial problems with staffing for the ASP program and that he is currently looking for recruits to fill vacant positions.
Blake mentioned the possibility grandparent volunteers. “We have an elderly population, and it could be good for community engagement on both sides,” she observed.
Love appointed a “sub-team” of three members to field the online survey within a couple of weeks. The full subcommittee will meet April 23.
Even if after school programs “lose money”, it is important for these programs to be supported by the community. You wonder why people don’t have kids today? It’s expensive! New York City has FREE all day 3k and 4k, and is starting to add 2k. It makes a huge difference for working parents. The burden should not be on parents; it does take a village. Invest in our kids, invest in our future! Plus, knowing a community has these social services will draw more families to our town. We need this!