Vallecitos School District approves before-school, after-school, and break program agreement

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The Vallecitos School District has approved an agreement to provide before-school, after-school, and break period activities to Vallecitos Elementary School students.

A 5-0 Vallecitos School District board vote Oct. 11 approved an agreement between the district and Good Sports Plus, Ltd., also known as ARC, for the activities. The initial agreement is retroactive to Oct. 1 and will end on June 30, 2023, and a one-year option which would extend the agreement to June 30, 2024, may be approved by the school without board action.

“This is to provide the funding for the before-school and after-school program,” said interim Vallecitos School District superintendent and Vallecitos Elementary School principal Ramon Leyba.

The school district partnered with Good Sports Plus, Ltd., for a 2021 spring camp which had space for 24 students although only 13 were able to attend on the short notice which was provided. The 2021 spring camp was for four hours each day and was not held on Good Friday, so it only consisted of four days. The spring camp had art activities and also had a "mad science" component which included "radical reptiles," an egg drop and a lava lamp. The camp had a student to staff ratio limit of 12:1.

In January 2022, the school district approved another contract with Good Sports Plus, Ltd. That contract increased the before-school enrollment program to up to 40 students, the five-day spring break camp to nine-hour daily sessions with the ability to accommodate between 50 and 60 students, and the summer program to nine hours each weekday for six weeks and with the ability to have between 70 and 80 students. Those camps had no more than 20 students per staff member.

The program approved at the Oct. 11 board meeting will have Good Sports Plus, Ltd., provide 33 additional nine-hour days of programming beginning with the Columbus Day holiday, Oct. 10. Sessions will also be provided Nov. 21-23, Dec. 19-23, Feb. 21-24, and April 3-7. Nine-hour summer sessions will be provided from June 12 to June 30.

The sessions during the school year will have the capacity to accommodate 60 Vallecitos students while the summer sessions will have the ability to accommodate 60 to 80 students. Good Sports Plus, Ltd., will provide enough staff for a student to staff ratio of no more than 20:1.

In addition to the on-campus activities, up to 20 Vallecitos students from sixth to eighth grades will participate in a two-day tent camping program Nov. 21-23 and up to 20 students from sixth through eighth grades will be part of a kayaking activity April 3-7 and June 12-30.

The school district and Good Sports Plus, Ltd., expect an average daily attendance of 50 students for the 180 days of the before-school program. Ten enrichment clubs are also part of the activities.

A representative from ARC made a presentation at the Oct. 11 school board meeting. “The board was interested in finding out and learning more about what was happening,” Leyba said.

The responsibilities of the Vallecitos School District include providing access to dedicated and shared space, providing dedicated space for the program office or desk with access to phone and computer communication lines, providing classroom space for before-school and after-school programming, providing access to learning resources and common space areas (such as the computer lab, cafeteria, library, gymnasium, and restrooms), janitorial and security support, snack or supper through the district’s food services program, assisting ARC staff with referral and recruitment of students to the programs, and assignment of the students to the programs.

Good Sports Plus, Ltd., will be paid $191,800 for the 2022-23 contract. The school district will pay monthly installments of $21,311.11 between October and June.