Deniece Hasson remembers it vividly — the day back in June when she found out her three boys got into their school’s free after-school program.
“I remember the exact moment that I found out that they had been accepted into the program, and I was jumping up and down for joy,” Hasson said.
Hasson’s boys go to Marvin Elementary School — one of eight schools in the San Diego Unified School District that added the free after-school program called Primetime this year.
“I got three separate emails back to back for each kid, and that just really released a lot of anxiety for me because I was able to feel like I had some breathing room financially,” she said.
Hasson said Primetime is going to save her a lot of money.
“So I did do the math and over nine years of having my three children in daycare, it came up to just over $174,000,” Hasson said. “So, nine years, three kids, and that was just the childcare.”
This year, San Diego Unified is using a state grant to boost Primetime — adding the program to more schools and increasing the number of students at each site. As a result, Hasson and other parents will now be able to enroll their children in afterschool care for free.
“With the additional Extended Learning Opportunities Program grant, it gives us the opportunity to expand the program and serve as many students as we can possibly serve,” said Christiane Trout-McPhee, manager of Primetime for San Diego Unified.
San Diego Unified contracts with several childcare providers to run Primetime, including SAY San Diego, the YMCA and ARC.
“Now there's additional state funding … that dramatically increased the number of spots and number of students. As an example, for San Diego Unified, we saw the target number of students for us double over the past couple of years,” said Brad Lupien, CEO of ARC.
More spaces means helping more families. Last year, there were nearly 2,000 students on Primetime waitlists. At the start of the school year in August, there were half as many.
Lupien emphasizes that the programs aren’t just about play.
“There's homework help and academic intervention. There's enrichment, and there's recreation or physical activity … And then every program by state law must also provide snacks or supper or both,” Lupien said.
Primetime’s expansion is just the first step in more accessible childcare across the state, said Kim McDougal, vice president of social services for the YMCA of San Diego County.
“The future of aftercare is that in communities where resources are needed to support after school time care, that they're provided by the state,” said McDougal.
But being able to staff the expanded programs is the next challenge, she said.
McDougal and other child care advocates want accessible and high quality care for all children, and say after-school care is part of that.
Meanwhile Hasson, the mother of three at Marvin Elementary, said free childcare programs like Primetime should be as widespread as public education.
“I believe that when it's compulsory to send your students to school and the school hours do not match our working hours, then there should be a program like this available at every school to all parents,” Hasson said.
Families can apply online. Military families and single parents are given priority in applications.
For Hasson, the free care for her boys is a big relief for her entire family.
“Being able to alleviate that part of the budget was just a breath of fresh air to know that we have room to save, to do other things and not have to worry about sort of paycheck to paycheck, making sure that we are able to cover these costs,” she said.
