Parents say Adventure Club staffing shortfall leaves Webster Groves families waitlisted
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Summary
At the Webster Groves School District board meeting, parents urged the district to address long Adventure Club waitlists, citing 55 students waitlisted at Edgar Road and nearly 100 districtwide, a lack of public communication about openings, and suggested partnerships and local recruiting to fill positions.
At the Webster Groves School District board meeting, parent John McLeod said persistent staffing shortages have left families on long waitlists for the district’s Adventure Club program and called for immediate action.
"Adventure Club is broken," McLeod told the board, adding that at the Aug. 28 board meeting the district reported 55 students remained waitlisted at Edgar Road and "nearly a 100 students district wide." He said parents at Edgar Road have received no update about when waitlisted children might start and estimated November was the earliest some children could enter the program.
Parents said the district has not communicated openings publicly. McLeod said the district’s social media accounts posted frequently in July and August but, "There has not been 1 single post since July 8 that has told the public these positions are available." He also said the district’s community paper had not carried recruitment notices and asked whether colleges inside the district, which use job platforms such as Handshake, had been used to recruit student employees.
McLeod suggested the district expand existing partnerships — citing a memorandum of understanding with Grand Canyon University discussed at a prior meeting — and pursue similar agreements with Webster University to boost hiring. He also proposed operational options to ease demand, including limited busing to elementary sites with available space and creating opportunities for high school students to serve as Adventure Club attendants during a free period, potentially tied to community-service hours.
The board did not take a formal vote on new Adventure Club measures during the public-comment period. Board members and staff acknowledged the problem earlier in the transcript (four new site attendants were approved at a prior meeting), but parents said Edgar Road families had not been notified about enrollments or openings.
McLeod and other parents framed the issue as a child-safety and equity concern, urging the district to use community resources — retirees, university students and high school students — to expand staffing and speed access to after-school care.
The board did not announce immediate next steps for Adventure Club during the meeting.