Attendance High for After-School Plans

City officials were caught by surprise this month by the growing popularity of after-school and summer programs for children.

An unexpected surge in attendance forced the city on Tuesday to transfer $34,560 from the Community Services Fund balance to the Youth Services Program budget to cover the added costs of staffing, transportation and supplies through June.

The city has been offering programs for children ages 5-12 for several years, but attendance was particularly high last year. After-school activities, such as those offered at the Orangethorpe Recreation Center, draw as many as 75 children per day--that’s more than twice the number that would have come a couple of years ago, said Aaron Orozco, community services coordinator for the city.

He said the after-school program has become more popular as it has become more structured.

“It’s no longer a drop-in program,” he said. “Now we have organized activities where the kids know what’s going to be happening every day.”

Those activities could include a soccer game, arts and crafts or a special enrichment activity related to science, music or drama. The city also started a homework club staffed by high school and college students who help kids with their studies. “I think the parents really like that one too,” Orozco said.