Extended School Care Parent Handbook

Extended School Care is a non-profit organization that provides quality before and after school care for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Operated by the Shrewsbury Public Schools, the program is fully funded through parent fees. Our mission is to provide a safe and nurturing environment where students can engage in enriching activities, participate in recreational programming and socialize with their peers. Time is also set aside each day for students to work on their homework. Our experienced and caring staff members create fun and innovative programming for students of all ages, interests and abilities. We focus on building positive relationships, developing social skills, strengthening self-esteem, and encouraging independence, responsibility and good decision-making. Our programs are located within the school building at Beal, Coolidge, Floral, Paton, Spring and Sherwood.

Absences

You must notify ESC directly if your child will be absent from the after-school program for any reason. (You do not need to report absences for the before-school program.) The school office does not inform us of your child's absence or early dismissal, so it is essential that you contact ESC in addition to informing your child's teacher or school office. Failure to notify us of your child's absence will result in a $10.00 fee after the second incident. You may email or call any time prior to school dismissal. Leave a message on the answering machine if no one is available to take your call. Please do not leave absence messages at the ESC Director’s office, as your message may not be able to be forwarded in a timely manner.

School	Phone	Email	Site Coordinator
Beal	508-841-8861	BealESC@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us	Caitlin Maddocks Courtney Poske
Coolidge	508-841-8881	CoolidgeESC@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us	McKenzie Davis-Martin
Floral	508-841-8743	FloralESC@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us	Joanne Tonelli Christine Poske
Paton	508-841-8628	PatonESC@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us	Mary Pritchard
Spring	508-841-8702	SpringESC@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us	Lisa Manley-McShane (after scool) Christine Poske (before school)
Sherwood	508-841-8696	SherwoodESC@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us	Gillian Hohne Ashley Bertrand

Code of Conduct

Our code of conduct is designed to protect the health, safety and well being of all the children enrolled in the Extended School Care program. We recommend that parents take the time to review these important expectations with their child. If a student is consistently having difficulty adhering to this code parents will be consulted and every effort will be made to help the child become a successful part of the program. Unfortunately, if the behavior continues or is of an extreme nature a brief suspension may be considered and ultimately the child may be asked to permanently leave the program. If the child's actions endanger the safety of others, the child will be asked to leave the program after the third incident. Children need to adhere to these rules in order to have a fun, safe and successful program. Our rules are designed to be consistent with the rules of the schools.

Children are expected to respect property, peers and teachers and refrain from insulting or abusive treatment toward others.
Indoor and outdoor equipment must be used safely, appropriately and cooperatively.
Students must use honesty in words and deeds and refrain from vulgarity and profanity.
It is required that students remain in the designated area for the program at all times unless accompanied by an adult or if a written permission has been obtained to release the child to outside supervision.

Communication with ESC

Open communication will make our program a success and we encourage parents to call us any time with questions or concerns. Questions about program activities, policies and child behavior should be brought to the site coordinator at your child’s school. (See above phone numbers and email addresses.) Questions about enrollment, schedules, billing and the wait list should be addressed to the administrative office. Feel free to contact the program director with any questions, concerns or suggestions that cannot be answered by your site coordinator.

Director	Assistant
Karen Isaacson	Mary Rana
Sherwood Middle School	Sherwood Middle School
508-841-8727	508-841-8727
kisaacson@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us	mrana@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

Early Morning Drop Off

The before school program opens at 7:00AM. Children may not be dropped off prior to 7:00AM as there is no adult supervision available at this time. An adult must accompany children into the building to sign in.

Early Release Days

Shrewsbury Public Schools will have 5 early release days for professional development. ESC will be open until 6:00PM on those days.

Early release schedule for Beal, Coolidge, Floral, Paton and Spring: 12:15PM-6:00PM
Early release schedule for Sherwood: 11:30AM- 6:00PM

Enrollment Policies

Current Students - Enrollment for students currently attending ESC is guaranteed from year to year as long as registration forms are completed by the assigned deadline, tuition is paid in full and the student maintains attendance in the program. Please note, you are only guaranteed re-enrollment in the program you currently attend (before school or after school.) If you are only enrolled in the before-school program and wish to add the after-school program, you will need to get on the wait list for after school.
Transfers - Children already enrolled in ESC who are changing schools within the district are reserved a space in ESC at the new school.
Sherwood Middle School -Students who attended ESC at one of the elementary schools are guaranteed a slot at the Sherwood Middle School ESC. Due to an earlier start time, there is not before school program at Sherwood.
Siblings -Siblings of children enrolled in ESC are given priority.
New Registration - After the returning students have completed the registration process, any remaining slots are assigned to students on the waiting list. The waiting list is established on a first come first serve basis. Registration of new children from the waiting list continues throughout the year as spaces become available.

Field Trips

Field trips and special in-house events are offered periodically at ESC. Only children regularly scheduled to attend on that day are eligible to participate in the field trip in order to maintain appropriate staff to student ratios. If you do not wish to have your child attend a scheduled trip, you will need to make alternate child care arrangements.

Financial Aid

If you qualify for free or reduced lunch, you will also qualify for financial aid with extended day. Please contact the program director for more information.

Holidays and Vacation Weeks

Extended School Care follows the Shrewsbury Public School calendar. It opens on the first day of school and closes on the last. We are closed for all school holidays, professional days and vacation weeks.

Homework Policy

Homework time is offered at the elementary and middle school level. Although staff is available to assist the students we are unable to offer one-to-one tutoring services.

Illness

ESC follows the same illness guidelines as the Shrewsbury Public Schools. If your child is too ill to attend school, or is sent home by the nurse during the school day, the student may not attend ESC that day. If your child becomes ill while at ESC we will contact you and ask you to pick up your child as soon as possible and no later than 1 hour from the time of the call. If your child has any communicable illness, please let us know so that we may alert other parents to possible exposure.

Information Update

Please notify us of any changes in the information on your child's emergency form: your address, phone number, workplace, emergency numbers, persons authorized to pick up your child, etc. It is very important that this information stays updated throughout the year as we may not have access to PowerSchool or other school records.

Late Parent Pick-Up

Please make sure your child is picked up no later than 6:00PM. If an emergency arises and you are delayed, please call to inform the staff. In the event that a child is not picked up and ESC has not received notification from the parent explaining an excessive delay, the police may be called. A late fee of $15 for every 15 minutes or portion thereof will be charged to your next month's bill. For example:

Pick-up between 6:01-6:15 will result in a $15.00 charge.
Pick-up between 6:16-6:30 will result in a $30.00 charge.
Pick-up between 6:31-6:45 will result in a $45.00 charge.

This procedure is in place for emergencies only. Habitual late pick-up may result in the loss of your spot, due to the problem of maintaining staff past 6:00PM.

Late Payment Policy

Tuition payments are due by the first of the month. Any payment received after the 5th of the month will result in a $25 late fee posted to your account. If payment in full is not received by the end of the month, services will be suspended or terminated. If you need additional time to pay your bill, please contact the director to discuss a payment plan. Please be advised that mail sent from Shrewsbury is now shipped to Boston for processing before being delivered back to Shrewsbury. This has created a delay in delivery time. Please allow extra time for your payment to arrive, or arrange to drop it off in person at the Sherwood Middle School.

Leave of Absence

The after school programs have long waiting lists, so if you are going on an extended trip or otherwise taking a leave of absence you will need to pay your full tuition in order to hold your spot. Failure to pay tuition in full, on time, will be considered a withdrawal and you will be placed on the bottom of the waiting list if you want to return to the program.

Medical Emergencies and Accident Policy

If your child is injured while participating in the program, every attempt will be made to notify the parents and then the emergency contacts listed on your enrollment form. In the event of a life-threatening emergency, an ambulance will be called immediately, prior to contacting the family. If the injury is not life threatening, but still needs medical attention and we are not able to reach a parent/authorized adult, ESC staff will call an ambulance and have the paramedics assess the injury. An accident report will be completed by the Director and filed in the School Department Office for any injury that requires medical attention.

Medication

Extended day may not administer any medication other than emergency medication (such as an Epi-pen) in the event of an allergic reaction. If your child requires an Epi-pen, the doctor’s order must be on file with the school nurse, and you must provide the medication to ESC, as nurse is not on site during ESC hours and we do not have access to stock medications in the nurse’s office. If your child requires an afternoon dose of medication, please work with your school nurse to have her administer it before your child comes to extended day. In accordance with school policy, children may not carry their own medication at any time. If you feel your child may require medication during the after-school hours please contact the extended day director and the school nurse so that we may evaluate the most appropriate course of action for your child’s safety and well-being.

Notices of Non-Discrimination Policy

Extended School Care does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, disability, national origin, religion, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status or class protected by state or federal law, in its admissions, educational policies, or otherwise in its operation or management.

Pick-Up of Children

Children will be released only to their parents unless written permission is on file, which indicates otherwise. If the designated individual is unfamiliar to the staff, identification will be required before the child will be released. Additionally, if a parent wishes to restrict the pick-up rights of another parent/guardian a court order must be on file in the Director's office. ESC staff members reserve the right to ask that an alternate person be called to pick up a child if they suspect that the parent/guardian is in any way unable to safely care for the child being picked up.

Program Hours

Morning session is available from 7:00AM to the start of the school day (no morning care at the middle school)
Afternoon session is available from dismissal to 6:00PM.

Snack

A snack and drink are provided each day in the after-school program. On early release days, children are expected to bring a nut-free lunch from home. Occasionally, ESC will provide pizza lunch on early release days. Details will be posted at your site in advance of the date if this is being offered. If your child has any food allergies please notify the director.

Snow Days

Morning and afternoon sessions of Extended School Care will not be in operation during snow days called by the Shrewsbury Public Schools.
In the case of a delayed start of school the Extended School Care morning sessions will also be closed, however our afternoon sessions will open as usual.
If it becomes necessary to dismiss the schools early, you will receive a telephone call from the school department outlining the new dismissal time and procedures. Due to the concerns over worsening conditions and for the safety of staff and children, ESC will not open. Please be prepared in these situations to pick up your children at the newly determined end of the school day.
If the schools do not dismiss early but it becomes necessary for ESC to close before 6:00PM parents will be notified by telephone. Please make sure your contact information is always up to date so that we can reach you on such occasions.

Special Needs

The Extended School Care program is not part of the regular school day and ESC staff may be unaware of any special educational plans or services your student receives. Parents of children who receive special services during the school day may wish to share this information with the staff of the Extended School Care program. The staff is available to meet with the child's classroom teacher or with the Special Education department at the parent's request. Parents are asked to complete a personal information form on their child and may include additional information about special needs on this form. If you feel your child requires any accommodations or a 1:1 aide to be successful at ESC, please contact the program director so that we can best meet your child’s needs.

Staff

The Extended School Care program is overseen by the Director of Extended Learning. Each program has a Site Coordinator who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program. We hire experienced professional staff to work with the students and strive to maintain a 1:10 adult-to-child ratio. We work very closely with building principals to maintain an environment where students thrive, however questions or concerns about the ESC program should be directed to your Site Coordinator or the program director rather than the school principal.

Payment Policies and Procedures

Tuition is posted in the parent portal two weeks prior to the due date. You will receive an email on approximately the 15th of each month letting you know your fee is available to be paid online with a credit or debit card. A detailed invoice will be attached to this email.
Tuition payments are due by the 1st of each month. A late payment fee of $25 will be charged for payments received after the 5th of the month. Failure to pay in full by the end of the month will result in a block on your school account, which will prevent you from registering for any other school program until the fee is paid. Habitual late payment may result in suspension or termination from the program.
The parent portal is our preferred method of payment, but you may also pay by check or money order, made payable to Town of Shrewsbury. The payment can be dropped off at the Sherwood Middle School or mailed to 28 Sherwood Ave. Please do not send payment to school with your child, or drop off your payment at any location other than the Sherwood Middle School.

Tuition Fees

Annual tuition fees are based on the 180-day school calendar. Fees are divided into 10 equal monthly payments for convenience (September – June). Monthly fees do not vary based on the number of school days in each month. Credit is not given for snow days as they are made up in June at no additional fee. There are no refunds or credits given for illness or vacation days.

2 day minimum enrollment is required
There is an annual, non-refundable $20 registration fee per family.
Withdrawal from the program or any reduction in schedule must be made in writing 30 days in advance. Continued tuition payment will be expected for that time period.
Any check returned for insufficient funds will be referred to the town treasurer and a $25 fee will be charged. Payment to cover this check must be made directly to the town treasurer in the form of a money order. In some circumstances, the treasure may require all future payments by this individual to be made by money order.
If your child qualifies for free or reduced lunch, they will also qualify for a discount with extended day. Please contact the program director for more information.