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Parents say Webster Groves Adventure Club remains understaffed, complicating after-school care
Summary
At a Webster Groves School District board meeting, a parent said the Adventure Club after-school program is not fully staffed, forcing working families to scramble; staff told the board they have new recruitment ideas and will report back.
Ashley Parker, a Webster Groves parent, told the Webster Groves School District Board of Education at its regular meeting that the district's Adventure Club after-school program is not fully staffed and that the shortfall is creating "difficult positions for working families." Parker, who said she lives at 600 Bacon Avenue and has two children at Gibbons Elementary, said the program's absence forces families to rearrange schedules and adds stress to ensure children are supervised after school.
Parker said her children "really enjoy" Adventure Club and described the program as a "fun, positive extension of their day." She urged the board to continue prioritizing staffing for the program so students can access the social and enrichment activities they experienced previously.
Board and staff discussion during the meeting acknowledged the staffing challenge but did not record a formal policy decision. During the reports and question period, a board member asked whether Avery Elementary was fully staffed; a staff speaker, Derek, said he would check with Sandy, the Adventure Club coordinator, and bring details back. Derek told the board the district had received suggestions from the new Adventure Club coordinator for broader recruitment channels beyond social media and said the district may use paid advertising such as Facebook posts.
During that exchange board members raised questions about how staffing is allocated across sites after one board member noted that Avery was reported at 100% staffing while Edgar was at 57%. District leadership said they would invite Sandy or other staff with assignment authority to a future meeting to clarify staffing allocations.
No formal motion or vote on Adventure Club staffing was recorded during the meeting. Board members directed staff to follow up and return with staffing details at a subsequent meeting so members could ask questions of the coordinator and human-resources staff directly.
Next steps: district staff said they would investigate the staffing numbers and recruitment efforts and report back to the board at a future meeting.
