Towns to run half‑day childcare on teacher PD days under new partnership

School leaders and town recreation officials presented a plan to provide supervised programming on half‑day professional development days, and the committee endorsed the approach at its Aug. 27 meeting.

Vice Chair Julie Lee explained that the recreation departments in both towns will operate enrichment programs at the elementary schools on scheduled half days so teachers can have additional professional development time. The program will include lunch, recess and theme‑based activities, follow ACA staff‑to‑child ratio standards, and will be staffed by recreation department employees. "We will run it out of the elementary schools and follow ACA standards for staff and student ratios," Lee said.

Officials said the program will charge a $25 fee per session; there will be no refunds and registration will be offered in two‑month blocks to help with staffing and budgeting. Eric Hoffses of the recreation department explained that recreation budgets are limited and that charging a fee is necessary to run the program. The Boylston Education Collaborative (BEC) will administer scholarships for families with demonstrated hardship, and district staff said they will monitor special‑education needs and ensure eligible students can participate.

Committee members asked about budgeting and long‑term sustainability. Mr. John Campbell suggested that if the program becomes regular, the district might consider adding a budget line; Mrs. Lee said the towns will refine operations after initial rollouts and the committee thanked the recreation departments for planning.

Next steps include publicizing registration details on recreation websites, finalizing staffing and cutoff dates, and tracking participation to assess whether the program should be added to future budgets.