REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
After School Care at Sunnyvale Elementary and Middle Schools
Report
BACKGROUND
While the City provides numerous recreational and enrichment programs as well as targeted after school care programs, providing universal after school care-defined as daily care available on school sites after the school day-is not a core City service. Elementary school districts in California receive state funding to provide required after school care at little or no cost to certain populations. Since this is an area of interest to our community, staff coordinated with school district staff to provide this report for informational purposes.
DISCUSSION
Summary of School District Programs
Sunnyvale is served by three school districts in grades transitional kindergarten (TK) to 8th grade (Cupertino School District, Santa Clara Unified School District & Sunnyvale Elementary School District). Each school district offers options for after school care, often referred to as Expanded Learning or Non-School Hour Time.
Expanded Learning is a term used for programs that are funded by the California Department of Education and/or the U.S. Department of Education. These programs operate in Title One Schools (schools that have 40% or more of the school’s population on free or reduced lunch) and have a minimum number of hours they must operate depending on the type of program (before school, after school, summer, and intersession, etc.).
Both Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) and Sunnyvale Elementary School District (SESD) receive two sources of state funding for expanded care-After School Education and Safety Program (ASES) and Expanded Learning Opportunity Programs (ELO-P). Both state funding sources allow eligible students to register for after school care at little or no cost.
Eligible students include students in foster care or experiencing homelessness, students with free/reduced lunch status, and English Language Learners. Eligible students receive priority registration. If there is remaining availability in the program, school districts will register other students who complete a registration form.
This state-required process sometimes results in families being wait-listed each year while school districts ensure that they first serve mandated populations before opening up remaining spots to populations that do not require service based on income, language learning, or other status. School districts keep an active wait list for their after school care program and offer spots to children on the list as slots in the program become available. In the 2024-25 school year, SESD was able to serve all waitlist families for their KLAS program about five months into the academic year. Interested families continued to add their names to the waitlist after the school year started and not all of them were able to be enrolled into the program. While this process of annual registration and waitlisting can create uncertainty for families not in the mandated population groups, it is not a process that the City can influence.
SESD’s after school care program, funded by state grants, is called Kids Learning After School (KLAS) and it is available at six elementary schools (Bishop, Ellis, Fairwood, Lakewood, San Miguel, and Vargas and one middle school (Columbia) KLAS is offered every day after school until 6 pm and serves an average of sixty students per site. The other two elementary schools (Cherry Chase and Cumberland elementary schools) and one middle school (Sunnyvale Middle School) are served by outside contractors. Their programs also operate every day after school until 6 pm and serves thirty students per site. In the 2025-26 academic year, SSD is paying for the outside contractors at these three schools and families don’t need to pay a fee. SSD prioritized high need families (i.e. low-income, English Learners, etc.) for the after school slots in each of these 3 schools.
SCUSD also contracts with other contractors to offer fee-based after school care. The partners include YMCA, Right at School and Boys and Girls Club at Mayne Elementary only. Available programs listed by each school available on this webpage: <https://www.santaclarausd.org/families/extended-learning>
SCUSD schools with state-funded after school program (Extended Learning) option that serve Sunnyvale families are Braly Elementary School and Laurelwood Elementary School.
Cupertino School District does not receive any state funding and contracts with fee-based providers for before/after school care for each of their elementary school sites. The providers are Catalyst, Champions and Northwest YMCA. Their district webpage (www.cusdk8.org) provides detailed information as to which provider operates at specific schools, how to register, etc. Rates or fees charged varies depending on location, school district and contractor.
It is common for school districts to offer other after school enrichment offerings that are offered once or twice a week and considered after school clubs or enrichment activities.
City Programs
In addition to state-required school-provided after school care, fee-based child-care, and enrichment activities led by school districts, City staff regularly coordinates with school districts and collaborates on recreation activities, if possible, to further expand opportunities for children. In the 2024-25 academic year, the Recreation Services Division collaborated with SESD to offer an after school recreation program for their young students in Transitional Kindergarten to Kindergarten. The program was offered every day at four elementary schools (Bishop, Ellis, San Miguel and Vargas elementary schools). SESD pays for the staff that works directly in the program and supplies. The City pays for full-time staff that coordinates and supervises program staff.
In addition, the City operates Kids Kare Program, an after school recreation program for students with disabilities, three days each week at San Miguel Elementary School. SESD also pays for the staff that works directly in the program and supplies. The City pays for full-time staff that coordinates and supervises program staff. Lastly, the City also operates the Fun-on-the-Run Program, a mobile recreation program, once a week, after school at three schools (Ellis, Fairwood and Lakewood elementary schools) which is fully City funded.
One of the City’s most significant childcare offerings is its full-day summer camp program, which operates for eight weeks each summer and serves approximately 1,300 children. This robust effort requires 95 casual and casual-seasonal staff. Beyond the elementary and middle school age group, the City also runs a part-time preschool program that serves approximately 28 children per month. In addition, the City hosts an annual Childcare Fair that provides information regarding numerous private-sector offerings. At the Childcare Fair, 22 businesses engaged with 69 families to help them find a childcare program that met their needs. Childcare referral lists for licensed family child care and childcare centers are also available on the city website.
For residents who need financial assistance, the City offers a Recreation Scholarship Program that awards qualifying families $500 per child for recreational activities. The funds can be used to register for any recreation class, camp or swim lesson. Last cycle, 150 children used their funds to enroll in City-offered programs.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council meeting agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board at City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Public Library and in the Department of Public Safety Lobby. In addition, the agenda and this report are available at the City Hall reception desk located on the first floor of City Hall at 456 W. Olive Avenue (during normal business hours), and on the City's website.
Staff
Prepared by: Angela Chan, Youth and Family Resources Manager
Reviewed by: Michelle Perera, Director of Library and Recreation Services
Reviewed by: Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Tim Kirby, City Manager