'ET' befriends children

Photos courtesy of the Crystal Lake Park District.

Concerned park officials, educators and residents joined efforts to provide care for a growing number of "latch key" children.

By Jane Christensen and Terry Clarke

When six-year-old Thomas Jackson's first grade class lets out at 2 p.m., he spends the rest of the afternoon alone in an apartment. His mother, Betty, a single parent, is hardly pleased with the situation but has no alternative; she can't get home from downtown where she works before 6 p.m. (Redbook, September, 1980)

Jeremy, who is eleven years old, wears a key around his neck and comes home to an empty house every day after school. He says it's lonely there since he's not allowed to have any kids in the house while his parents are at work. (Family Weekly, September 12, 1982)

The growing social phenomenon of the working mother and the single-parent family has rapidly increased the number of "latch key" children who need care before and after school.

Scope of the problem

At least two million school-aged children between the ages of seven and 13 are left alone during the week without adult supervision on a regular basis, and 60 percent of the mothers of school-aged children are currently working. The Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. research firm, predicts that by 1993 10.4 million school-aged children will need some form of child care, and two out of three mothers will hold jobs outside the home.

When employment of both parents is commonplace, a clear need exists for a community facility or resource to help these children and to ensure that community needs for its future citizens are met. The Crystal Lake Park District and Elementary School District 47 felt they could effectively work together to benefit community parents, their children and the employers of working parents.

Illinois Parks and Recreation                                 7                                                          May/June 1985

A cooperative approach

In Crystal Lake, School District 47 and the park district have enjoyed a long history of interagency cooperation that fostered a number of programs and projects. Each agency has complimented the other when either had a need and the other had the resources.

Through this cooperative climate it was realized that the numbers of "latch key" children were on the increase locally. The recognition of this need was determined by school administrators who have daily contact with students and their families.

Park and school officials subsequently held a meeting to decide what approach would be best for examining Crystal Lake's latch key situation. This resulted in the creation of a committee composed of park and school personnel, parents of grade school children, board members and the schools' transportation director. The wheels were in motion for creating an Extended Time (ET) program which would provide affordable before- and after-school care for grade school children.

Community assessment

The committee designed a written survey to assess community interest in a school-based Extended Time program. It was distributed in late summer to parents of elementary school-aged children who are employed outside the home.

After evaluating those responses, the committee concluded that there was limited availability of before and after-school care in Crystal Lake. It was also learned that there was a need for reliable, responsible and inexpensive care for school-age children during the workweek.

The committee next examined program model alternatives; administration and staffing options; transportation, and available physical facilities, financial resources and materials.

Program model evaluation took the greatest amount of time. On-site studies of local services, along with meetings in other communities, were arranged to get a first-hand look at various programs. These included day care, recreational time, educational programming and activity-based projects that incorporated the other program elements.

Moving ahead

School District 47 agreed to provide space for the program at no cost. It also offered its professional resources and made its cafeteria personnel and transportation system available to the project at cost.

The park district had responsibility for administration and supervision, staff selection and training, budgeting, overseeing periodic committee meetings and program evaluation.

Day care programs which are operated in private buildings are subject to regulation by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and inspection by the local fire marshal. However, similar programs located in Crystal Lake's public schools are not subject to these standards. This is because those schools have already met the State's life safety codes, and the Extended Time program has been designed as an extension of the school day rather than as a day care program.

The birth of "ET"

The Extended Time program began in the fall of 1983. Plans were made to expand the program slowly to ensure its continued quality.

Two of the district's eight elementary schools (six public and two parochial) were identified as program sites for the first year based on the number of working and single parents. One school was designated to serve as an attendance area site for children attending that school.

The second location was earmarked as a magnet site to which children would be transported at the end of the school day for the ET program.

Illinois Parks and Recreation                                 8                                                          May/June 1985

Because of initial enrollments, the program was offered only at one site on a magnetic design. The school had a vacant classroom which was used for the Extended Time program. District 47 provided janitorial services and supportive expertise in dealing with the children.

The program was offered between 3:20 and 6 p.m. on days when school was in session full-time and from noon to 6 p.m. on other school days. The program was not available during the summer or on school holidays.

The Extended Time curriculum included play and creativity, arts and crafts, athletics, and time for quiet play and homework. Playground and gym facilities were also available.

The park district was responsible for hiring the staff, supervising the program, purchasing materials and supplies (including daily nutritional snacks through the school cafeteria's services) and maintaining the program financially. Enrollment tuition was kept at a minimum.

Program expansion

Last year the Extended Time program was also available before school between 6:30 and 9 a.m. A hot breakfast was provided by the school cook and children were transported to their respective schools by 9 a.m. This allowed parents to drop off their children on the way to work.

In addition, a kindergarten session was added between 11:20 a.m. and 6 p.m. for children attending morning kindergarten classes in district schools.

A second classroom was added so youngsters could be separated by age groups and activities could be geared toward specific interests. However, the general format and concept of the Extended Time program remained the same.

1985 plans

The program will be expanded later this year to meet the continuing community need for before- and after-school care programs for the children of single and working parents. A second full-time site will be opened if enrollments are strong enough to support it financially. In addition, the hours of the program will be expanded to include the time from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

An Extended Time or latch key program can be implemented successfully in your community with a good foundation of research and planning, along with selling points that meet the needs of single-parent and working-parent families.

Finally, the most critical element in the program is the children. Extended Time means an opportunity for them to continue growing, have fun and receive tender loving care and understanding from the staff.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Jane Christensen has been with the Crystal Lake Park District since 1982. She is currently recreation supervisor and coordinator for the Extended Time project. She is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University.

Hershey film available

"The Winning Spirit," a new 16mm color film about Hershey's National Track and Field Youth Program, is now available on a free loan basis to park and recreation department directors.

The 15-minute film looks at the rules which guide the program and highlights the program's philosophy and goals. It also takes viewers to the national final held in Chocolate Town, U.S.A.

Terry Clarke is superintendent of recreation for the Crystal Lake Park District. Employed there since 1978, he is a graduate of Western Illinois University.

To order "The Winning Spirit," contact Film Scheduling Center, Modern Talking Pictures Services, 5000 Park St., North, St. Petersburg, FL 33709 (813/541-7571).

Illinois Parks and Recreation                                 9                                                          May/June 1985