Board hears childcare enrollment shortfalls; district lays out yearlong professional learning plan

Miss Bacalor, director of Recreation & Education programs, told trustees that aftercare operations this fall cover 16 elementary schools through 13 program sites and that each site needs 22 full-pay students Monday through Friday to cover costs. "At this time, of these 13 program sites, 11 have met the minimum, and 2 are under the minimum," she said, and described continuing outreach to families.

Bacalor highlighted a mismatch between survey interest and registration for the A2 STEAM aftercare pilot: more than 100 parents responded to a survey that indicated interest in 70 full-time and 66 part-time slots, but registrations to date were far lower (8 full-time and 7 part-time). She said staff are following up and that the target date to set up one program is Sept. 30.

Trustees asked for comparative data on outside providers and tuition levels; Bacalor said the district collects that data but did not have it at the meeting and agreed to provide it.

Separately, Miss Linden presented the districts professional learning pathway for the year, centered on Danielsons teaching framework and research from John Hattie. The years priorities are domain 2 (relationships and routines), teacher clarity (learning intentions and success criteria) and student engagement. Linden noted the state minimum continuing-education requirement is 30 hours per year and recertification requires 150 hours across five years; the district said it exceeds the minimum and has planned full-day professional learning on Sept. 29 and ongoing weekly sessions.

Trustees asked how the professional learning schedule fits with full-day PD and how the district tracks requirements; Linden said work is ongoing throughout the year with share fairs, building-level artifacts and weekly collaboration opportunities.