Hundreds of Durham families remain on waiting list for district-provided after-school care
Hundreds of Durham Public Schools students' families are in limbo, stuck on the waiting list for after-school care.
Numbers from the district show 330 elementary school students are on the waitlist for the 2023-24 school year. It’s an improvement from the 766 elementary students at this time last year.
The district is dealing with a staffing issue. It needs to fill 23 vacancies among its 133 staff positions as of Thursday.
It’s still not good enough for DPS parent Katherine Goldstein, whose second grader will receive after-school care after initially being on the waitlist.
“I was at my computer at 8 a.m., right at the moment that after care opened,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein said the uncertainty is stressful. While her son has since gotten a spot, she’s continuing her fight for change.
“I have twins who will be entering DPS in 2024-25,” she said. “I don’t want to be dealing with this for 10 more years, and that’s absolutely the path we’re on.”
To register for after-school care, DPS families pay a $35 registration fee and one month worth of costs (20 days of care) up front. On its website, the district states families have a choice of getting put on the waitlist or getting refunded any unused fees. After-school programs run from 2:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. and start at $205 for 20 days.
DPS chief communications officer Chip Sudderth released the following statement.
"We opened registration for next year with 1,458 elementary after-school seats, 368 more than last year,” Sudderth wrote. “We have a current waitlist of 330 district-wide, compared to 766 at this time last year.
“We are focused on reducing the waitlists in schools with 30 or more waitlisted students, including E.K. Powe, Lyons Farm, Morehead and Watts. Once we are able to hire an additional 11 after-school staffers, we will be able to reduce the current waitlist from 330 to 186.”
Data from the U.S. Department of Labor shows families in Durham paid a median yearly price of $16,773.26 in 2022 dollars for Triangle care.
“This has a huge impact on working families and our economy,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein believes DPS needs to increase pay, and partner with outside organizations to find workers.
“This is absolutely doable, and anyone who says it's not should find another job outside of the public school system,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein helped start a petition, demanding, among other things, that all students on the waitlist be guaranteed a spot. Here is the list of Goldstein’s demands:
- 100% of after-school elementary waitlists cleared by the start of the 2023-24 school year.
- To eliminate signup inequity, all students who sign up within a certain time frame in the spring of 2024 are guaranteed a spot for the 2024-25 school year. This includes students with disabilities or Individualized Education Programs. We demand support for all families who need care.
- Clear communication from the Community Education Office.
- Easy to use, glitch-free technical platforms.
- Regular updates from the district sent to all families about progress on achieving these goals.
The DPS Board of Education will get an update Thursday night on this issue from district leaders.
