Marcia Bunch, secretary and after-school program helper at Gateway Elementary, works with second grade student Madison Chapman with her math homework. Greg Beckner/Staff
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School’s out, for some

After-school programs leave the lights on for working parents

by Anna B. Mitchell

Published: August 26, 2:10 p.m.

About 30 elementary schools in Greenville County are keeping their doors open for kids until 6 p.m. everyday.

They are part of an after-school program that gives working parents a safe and inexpensive answer for afternoon childcare while also raising thousands of dollars for schools.

After expenses, Gateway Elementary in Travelers Rest raised $15,000 last year through its 25-year-old after-school program, one of the oldest in the county. When the Greenville County school district cut money for supplies last year, the school was able to dip into that money for copier costs, among other things, Gateway Principal Glenn Wright said.

“We used to sell ice cream all year and not make more than $3,000,” Wright said.

Brook Glenn Elementary raised about $30,000 through its program, Principal Bernice Jackson said.

“That money goes back into the program and the regular school,” Jackson said. “Learning materials, games, walkie talkies, whatever.”

The school also bought interactive Promethean boards for its classrooms with money from the program.

The three-and-a-half-hour program costs $40 a week for one child, $65 for two and $85 for three.

Time is set aside for homework, but the rest of the day is filled with a snack and games with teachers and other staff watching closely. Some schools will fit in a craft day or computer lab day or add sports and music.

The programs keep students safe – kids aren’t at home by themselves or being watched by an older sibling, Jackson said.

“The parents love it because they don’t have to put their children on a bus or daycare van,” said Teresa Atkins, director of the Gateway program.

Jackson said many of her school’s working mothers are raising children alone and are trying to run a household and cook dinner by themselves during their abbreviated evenings.

Bell’s Crossing Elementary Principal Barbara Barlow echoed that sentiment – her school’s eight-year-old program is especially important to parents who only get a couple of hours a night with their kids. By the time they get home, schoolwork is finished.

“We hope that we can take that piece off of parents in the afternoon,” Barlow said. “So they can have family time.”

The 1,200-student school reserves 140 spots for after-school care, and there’s always a waiting list of 25 to 30.

One drawback is the child-care program is closed when school is. Working parents have to find other arrangements for care when school is out.

“We aren’t allowed to extend the program,” Jackson said. “There was a school that did try, but they went into the hole, keeping the building open, finding other fun things to do.”

The public school program also can’t accept state-sponsored ABC Child Care Vouchers, Jackson said.

“We have had teachers on staff who have paid for children to attend the program,” she said.

At Brook Glenn, its roughly 80 after-school students get extra attention from members of a local women’s club, Links Inc., and a fraternity of black professionals, Kappa Alpha Psi. These groups have brought in musicians, dancers and athletes to mentor the students.

There are many days when kids don’t want to leave when parents get there early.

“They will say, ‘You can come after a while and get me,’” Jackson said. “The time goes by fast for them.”

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