Dear Northampton Superintendent, School Committee, City Council, and Mayor,

Out of School Time is time when children are not in their structured school setting. It includes before and after school, half and professional development days, school vacations (December, February and April)  and summer vacation, as well as during snow days. Northampton School Committee AND City Council should care about these gaps in care because working parents and caregivers are struggling, and some families are struggling more than others. There are not nearly enough systemic options in place to support families. 

There are two key challenges resulting from the lack of systemic options. The first is that without access to quality care, some families are vulnerable to the resulting economic repercussions from lack of care. People's jobs can be put into jeopardy. The second challenge is that children's wellness and development can suffer. Some children may be left home alone or left with sub-optimal care such as with an older, but not old enough, sibling. The “every family for itself model” results in equity issues such that families with more resources (financial, family help, etc.) have more ease and greater access to quality programming and supplemental opportunities, while families with fewer resources struggle and have little to no access to these opportunities. People in our community are suffering due to these gaps in care. Other communities address these gaps with institutional solutions, and we can do the same. Northampton is a community that cares about equity. This is a major equity issue and we do have the power to work together to make positive change. 

We are writing this letter to address the gaps of care during Out of School time in Northampton, to outline the inequities these gaps create, to present specific near-term asks, to present slightly longer-term asks, and to draw your attention to models from outside the district that Northampton can consider implementing. 

Gaps in Care

• The YMCA, which offers aftercare at three out of four of Northampton’s elementary schools, is not able to serve all children due to space limitations (due to the EEC licensing). While they have increased their capacity, many families remain out of luck. Families talk about “putting on their war paint” on the mornings of aftercare and camp registration. Some families have one parent at home working to register online while their partner is at the YMCA to register in person, so that the couple can ensure their family has care regardless of whether the online or in person process moves faster. Single parents have a hard time competing with that strategy. Accessible aftercare and summer care should not be a blood sport. Having multiple vendors that provide care and have enough spots for all students who need those spots is a clear option. An added potential benefit is that vendors could provide the enrichment options as discussed below. Multiple vendors could also meet the needs of many more children and families.  
• The current YMCA program is not designed to accommodate all students who attend Northampton Public School. Because they are a small and under-resourced program, they have a very limited definition of ‘reasonable accommodations,’ and if children cannot abide by the code of conduct with those accommodations, that child is removed from the program.  This creates a tremendous gap in care for students with behaviors or disabilities that require more individualized support or even for children displaying age-appropriate challenging behavior.  For example, a kindergartener was on the verge of being kicked out of the YMCA for most of the year due to being on his third strike for hitting. This is despite the fact that professionals (including the YMCA behaviorist) agreed that occasional hitting is age appropriate for five and six year olds. Children at this age still struggle with emotional regulation and need support. This child was also in the process of getting evaluated (and ended up with an ADHD diagnosis), beginning OT, and starting therapy, but the fact that these processes were in progress did not change the fact that he could be removed from aftercare if another incident occurred. If the YMCA is providing the only aftercare for some Northampton public school students, they either need to be able to accommodate the needs of those children, or the Northampton school district must find additional vendors to meet the needs of the children that the YMCA cannot serve. These children and families need care too.  

Equity Issues

The City of Northampton and the School Board made the decision to switch school times. Now, elementary schools end at 2:10pm.

• Due to lack of accessible, affordable after school care, some children go home to an empty house. In our district, first graders can get off the bus with no adult present.
• Some children are watched by older siblings (for example, a third grader watching a kindergartener). Some children are left in the care of grandparents who are no longer competent caregivers.  Parents/caregivers are being put in the position where they have to make hard and less than optimal choices in order to continue piecing together the juggling act of care and work. Parents/caregivers who have financial means and/or family support are in a MUCH better position. Some families even have relatives drive and fly long distances to cover half days, professional development days, and school vacations.
• While some children have inadequate after-school supervision, other children go home with parents or nannies who, in some cases, bring them to music lessons, language classes, math enrichment programs such as Russian Math, reading tutors, Lego classes, the library, theater classes, and any number of sports. For those children, enrichment is a regular part of their out-of-school time as is learning how to be curious and engaged in spaces other than school.
• Given that school ends at 2:10pm, children might be in their aftercare setting for 80 hours per month. Every problem is an opportunity, and here is the opportunity: Let’s do something productive for kids in our community with that immense amount of time. This is valuable time in the development of our children.  Right now, only families with time and money can access extracurricular activities to put those hours to use. Leeds elementary school has found a way to provide a robust aftercare program including five day a week enrichment options. However the other schools are lagging behind, especially Ryan Road which has the fewest options of any of the schools.

Specific Near-Term Asks:

• Because the YMCA cannot meet the needs of all NPS students, one of these three solutions should be implemented in this coming school year. 1) The YMCA needs to increase their accommodations to meet the needs of all NPS students in their care. 2) The Northampton school district needs to support the YMCA to reasonably accommodate all children in their aftercare program. 3) The Northampton School District must employ multiple vendors in order to be able to serve the children in aftercare. It is unacceptable to have another year of school pass where aftercare services are put in jeopardy for families.
• Fix inequities between schools and offer standard school-run after school program, with 5 day a week enrichment (such as what is occurring at Leeds Elementary and Bridge Street School). The recommendation is based on the Superintendent’s Out of School Time work group, which finished its recommendations in February 2025. Therefore, changes should be made for the coming school year.
• An out-of-school time task force may be necessary to continue working on creative solutions. There are many models of out-of-school time programming, perhaps in partnership with neighboring universities and other constituents. See here for models of programming partnerships.

Slightly longer-term Asks: (2 years out)

• All students in Northampton public elementary schools should have access to an aftercare program.
• All of Northampton public elementary schools should have an aftercare that offers enrichment which includes skills that they cannot get during school hours (such as instruments, language, dance, academic clubs, SEL, etc). These are the things that help our youth develop their unique identities. These opportunities create well-rounded and fulfilled humans. Practically, participating in activities like this also help young people to be competitive in college and in today's world. 
• Northampton should provide affordable/accessible care for students on all half days, professional development days, during school vacations, and there should be at least some option during summer vacation. The benefits to supporting families in this way far outnumber the obstacles.

Models to Consider

The following models are all different from Northampton’s somewhat unique economic and social profile. However, the following models could serve as a catalyst for ideas: 

• Springfield Public Schools (through a grant) has a number of free options for families and presents them as a menu of options. Though Northampton Public Schools may not be able to offer programming for free, a menu of accessible (both physically and monetarily), wrap-around options could be provided (https://sezp.org/families/afterschool/
• Wayland, Massachusetts encountered challenges when their school end time changed. Parents worked with the town to solve the challenge resulting in this program: https://www.wayland.ma.us/recpass
• In Philadelphia, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania provides enriching opportunities to students at Sayre High School.
• In New York City, the Children’s Aid Society serves as the lead partner agency for 22 community schools. Funded in part by 21st Century Community Learning Centers and Title I funds, they provide enriching afterschool activities (dance, music, cooking classes, leadership development, and college readiness activities to support student learning) for more see here.
• In Henrico County, VA, the school district runs a six week half-day Summer Academy that provides academic instruction to elementary students at no-cost. In fact, the students who participate can then be bussed  from the academic program directly to a camp program for the second half of the day, and the camp is discounted for students who attend the academic program ($85/week, M-Th). If you’d like to learn more, visit their website.
• Also in Henrico County, VA their education foundation provides a robust aftercare program at their elementary school called HEF (Henrico Education Foundation), which includes significant enrichment. Besides free play and homework help, they put the students in groups and cycle them all through activities including yoga, soccer, volleyball, martial arts, graphic design, art, and kidokinetics. You can read about the HEF after school program here. You can see an example of one of their newsletters here.

Possible Grants

• What We Fund - W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• Northampton Education Foundation
• Afterschool and Out-of-School Time (ASOST), Including Summer, Select Grant Programs - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
• Smith college wants to fund specific projects. Aftercare is a perfect fit.

Potential Alternative Vendors

• Collaborative for Educational Services
• Northampton Public School via Northampton Learning Foundation grant
• People’s Institute (already are an aftercare option but only for Bridge St)
• Northampton Rec Center (currently does not take vouchers)
• Smith College Has a wealth of student talent and would make a great partner. 

Additional Resources:

Do IEPs cover extracurricular activities?
https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.afterschool.crabtree.htm 
https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/cms/lib/MA01907509/Centricity/Domain/62/504%20and%20ADA%20After%20School%20Rights.pdf

In Conclusion

The gaps in systemic options for Out of School Time care leave some children and families in a very vulnerable position, and the gaps create large equity issues in our town. They are also huge missed opportunities to further educate and support youth and families in Northampton as well as to strengthen community ties and trust. It is time we come together to address this issue with new programs. If we get it right, it could even be an economic boon for the district, drawing more families to our community. We are creative people, capable of working together to find solutions to meet the needs of all families.

Key Community Signatures:

Rebecca Edwards, Parent and Author of Letter

Alena Bartoli, Ward 1 School Committee Candidate

Lindsay Rowe, Out Of School Work Group Representative

Dave Gorin, Northampton SEPAC Executive Board Member

Chris Stratton, Ward 6 City Council Candidate