School Age Child Care Essay, Research Paper
Implementing a School Age Child Care (SACC) Program
Graduate Department of Education
Identification of the problem
According to the Florida Educational Research Council,
in 1955, 60% of all households were traditional type families
(Davies,Topping & Koon, 1989). While dad was at work, mom
was at home cooking and cleaning for the family. Today less
than 7% of all households fit this pattern. The need for
child care, and specifically, School Age Child Care (SACC) is
a fact of life today. There is hard evidence that supports
this need. Seventy percent of the working age women are
employed in the work force today (Davies et al., 1989).
XXXXX Community Elementary School is comprised of 1500
students. XXXX is situated among affluent communities of
Boca Raton. There are a number of private day cares that
transport 100 students to their centers for supervision
during after school hours. Presently, however, there is an
unknown number of students that also require supervision
during after school hours but are not receiving it. Because
there is no program available at XXXX Elementary School,
these children are part of the 4 million “latchkey” children
in the United States today (Davies et al., 1989). Latchkey
children sometimes wear a key around their neck and always go
home to an empty house. My job as principal begins here as I
address the problem of “latchkey” students at my school. I
must research the situation, and provide a solution that will
meet the needs of the school and community. By researching
present child care information, seeking input from my staff,
checking with the business community, and conducting a parent
need assessment survey, I can begin to address this problem.
Before contacting parents, a review of the current
literature available on School Age Child Care is the first
step necessary to make a decision regarding child care
services at XXXX Community Elementary School. Because
gathering this information is time consuming, a fact finding
committee, headed by one of the two Assistant Principals, was
formed in January, 1991 to expedite this review and a summary
of its findings follows. According to Pamela Mason of the
Florida Department of Education (1991), there are 912,000
school age children who need child care. Private centers
accommodate 460,000, public schools provide for 80,000, but
there are still 364,000 children under twelve without
supervision during the after school hours in Florida. Child
care shortages negatively affect children. Aside from low
academic achievement, latchkey children seem to be more
fearful than other children. Their outdoor playtime and
social relationships are severely restricted. Self-care
children appear to be at risk and are more likely to be
victims of accidents, which are a leading cause of death
among children (Seligson, Genser, Gannett, & Gray, 1983). At
this point it appears that School Age Child Care is a valid
concern for parents of the students at Verde Elementary
School. A meeting to involve the faculty and further study
of the situation is necessary and is scheduled for February,
1991.
At the faculty meeting the principal suggests the
prospect of providing child care services for the school and/
or community. The principal realizes it is necessary to get
the support of the faculty and staff if the program is to be
successful. Some of the items on the agenda include:
1. initial parental concern for latchkey students
2. discussion of the pros and cons as seen by the
faculty
3. review of the initial committee’s findings
4. need for further investigation by additional
committees
At the conclusion of the faculty meeting, 4 additional six
member committees have been formed. Each committee will have
one chairperson, appointed by the principal, who will be
responsible for maintaining cohesiveness and reporting the
findings of the committee. Each committee will meet weekly
and report its findings to the faculty and principal at the
end of six weeks. The function of the five committees will
be as follows:
Committee #1 – Fact Finding
This committee will continue to review the current child care
policies using the professional library for assistance. The
committee will continue to research Palm Beach County’s
guidelines for establishing a School Age Child Care program
within a school and share the findings with the other
committees.
Committee #2 – Parent Survey
This committee will meet with the school’s Parent Association
and enlist its assistance so that an exact number of children
requiring child care services is ascertained. The parents of
the 1500 students at Verde as well as parents of children
living in the community and using private schools must be
contacted.
Committee #3 – Staff Survey
The committee will create an awareness of the impact that a
child care program will have on the school environment and
the school plant. Teachers will be aware that classrooms
will need to be used to house the children during the after
school program. Since the facility does allow for teacher
planning areas, teachers should be willing to use it for the
semester while the SACC program is using their room.
Committee members will poll teachers for their input and
concerns. Discussion of certain characteristics displayed by
latchkey students as indicated by the fact finding committee
will b
Committee #4 – Business Community
The business community must be considered because of the
impact that latchkey children under twelve have on their
businesses. Financial support will be sought from these
businesses making them partners in the child care/education
process.
Committee #5 – Cost Effectiveness
In order for a School Age Child Care program to be run, it
must be self supporting. By looking at existing programs in
Palm Beach and surrounding counties feasibility of this
prospect can be determined. This committee will look at all
options available including “contracting” this service to
another organization such as the YMCA. It must be noted that
the need of the parents must be met both financially and
with the hours of operation. Teachers have emphasized their
concern of losing federal dollars to support yet another
program.
The principal will delegate each committee chairperson report
to one of the two Assistant Principals who will then keep the
committee’s findings updated.
At the March 15, 1991 faculty meeting, the results of
the committees findings are discussed. In polling the
community, it has been determined that 500 students will
require supervision. 5% will be from other schools within
the community. Committee members noted that parents felt
encouraged by the school’s attempt to find a solution to the
child care shortage problem. They also felt they could
manage for the last three months of the school year and
looked forward to working together for the upcoming school
year.
The business community was in favor of a partnership
with the school center due to the high cost of vandalism and
theft committed by latchkey students in the fourth and fifth
grades and would contribute various services.
The cost-effectiveness committee determined that a
program that would support itself was not only possible, but
could be operated at a low hourly charge of $1. This would
meet the financial needs of parents in the community and be
lower than any existing child care service in the area.
Operating the program until 6:00 p.m. will further meet the
needs of parents in the community.
The principal meets with the fact-finding committee as a
follow up to the previous committee’s recommendations. The
principal instructs the committee to identify three schools
in the county with similar needs and facility. The principal
delegates one or more committee members will observe these
schools to help determine the hours of operation, the charge
to parents, and the type program that will be run at XXXX
for the 1991/92 school year.
The principal then begins the task of establishing
a School Age Child Care program to be operational August 26,
1991. Everything to meet the program needs must be purchased
prior to August. An Assistant principal will contact the
school board to get start up funds for the program if any is
available. Due to the input from the staff regarding the low
academic achievement of latchkey students, the program will
be academically structured for its initial year. In order to
meet the ratio requirements as determined by the fact-finding
committee, the principal will be required to hire 25 School
Age Child Care workers, one office assistant, one director,
and one homework tutor. All positions will be advertised and
will meet school board requirements. Appointment to the
position of director and assistant director will be made by
July 1, 1991. Job descriptions will be given to these people
as well as kept on file in the office. The duties of these
people will be as follows:
Director
The director will plan and implement the framework of the
program which includes the scheduling of all activities,
outdoor games, and playing field use. The director will also
keep a file on each student in the program with a completed
registration form and emergency phone numbers. The director
will meet with the Assistant Principal on a weekly basis.
For at least the first three months the director will discuss
any and all decisions regarding the program with the
Assistant Principal, including the use of classrooms as
meeting places for groups of students. After that time, if
it has been determined that the director’s goals are in line
with the school’s, more latitude will be given in decision
making areas.
Assistant Director
This person will assist the director in any capacity as
deemed necessary by the director and assistant principal.
All monies due the program will be collected by this person
and recorded appropriately.
SACC Workers
Both SACC I and SACC II workers will follow duties as
indicated in the job descriptions for instructional and
teacher aides.
The principal will assign one of the two assistant principals
to assist with the SACC program. The fact-finding committee
will remain operational during the 1991/92 school year and
will meet again after three months to discuss further needs
and assess the program. They will look into some of the
concerns that were addressed earlier such as how the staff
has been affected by the school’s decision to offer child
care services; how the process of these changes has affected
the children, noting any improvements in children’s work or
attitude.
Bibliography
rogram which includes the scheduling of all activities,
outdoor games, and playing field use. The director will also
keep a fil