With 9 hour days and 30 inter-session days, an Expanded Learning Opportunities Program adds 850 hours of support per student per year. How do we achieve this many hours of support while providing choice-driven, interest-focused enrichment learning at the same time?
Many districts are achieving both by providing both extended care programs and enrichment programs at the same time. Extended care programs provide coverage for 9-hour days. Then students choose enrichment classes of interest to participate in, one hour per week during the school year or through multi-hour per day summer camps. This is a wonderful way to engage our students and empower them to explore their interests and discover their passion.
For example, Chula Vista Elementary School District in San Diego partnered with the YMCA for extended care programs and also partnered with 6crickets to organize a wide variety of enrichment providers to teach weekly enrichment classes in chess, dance, theater, foreign languages, engineering, and coding, to name a few. Please read more about their experience here.
Could this model be compelling to your district and your students? If so, we’d love to hear from you!