DHSP finally shares data for Fall 2023 afterschool
But they're not sharing much with those on the Summer Camp waitlist
Note: Eugenia has started a new job with Mayor Simmons’ Office, so she needs to pass the baton to Amanda for these updates. Eugenia says please drop by anytime to say hi! (City Hall is open to the public, and yes you can just walk right in.)
You might have seen that DHSP finally released some numbers and analysis from the Fall 2023 afterschool lottery.
Good news: this is the most comprehensive, accessible update they’ve released to date. Lots of relevant numbers that parents can help assess their chances of getting a spot. Most helpful are slides 5 (by program) and 6 (by age group).
Also, the afterschool lottery will open on M, 4/22 (great!)
But necessary info is missing: Parents new to the system still don’t have enough information to estimate their chances of getting a spot — DHSP hasn’t included data on incumbency (a big factor), or siblings and partial placements.
#1 — you face unknown chances if you’re new. In Fall 2023, DHSP began guaranteeing spots for all students who were currently enrolled. This makes it harder for new families coming into the system.
While DHSP reports 80% of applicants got an offer, that is averaged over incumbents and non-incubents.
Incumbent kids have a near 100% chance of getting a spot, whereas
new kids’s chances are much worse.
Families need to know what share of *new entrants* were placed. It is misleading to let them think they have an 80% chance.
Note: Families new to the system are those likely to have the youngest kids — and the greatest practical need for afterschool. (You can see this on slide 6.)
#2 — Why aren’t all low-income applicants getting spots any more? Is this an unintended consequence of the new incumbency policy? Last year, “priority applicants” were essentially all served. Now, it’s down to ~85%.
#3 — Additional concerns (siblings, partial placements). We also anecdotally hear that families struggle when one child gets placed but not the other(s). Or when families are offered 2- or 3-day instead of 5. Both issues can present significant practical barriers for families, so it would be nice to data on how big these issues really are.
We have not seen any longer-term plan to add more spots. This year, 300+ children didn’t get a spot. DHSP has committed to expanding programing. How much are they going to expand and by when? What is the longer-term plan for serving all children?
Note: The city has hired consultants to look into expansion. We’re not yet sure on the timeline of that, however.
Another note: We learned about the expansion study the Cambridge Residents Alliance’s recent forum on universal afterschool, which you can view here (1hr20).
Finally, here’s our wishlist of the information we’d like DHSP to share with families before the Fall 2024 lottery opens on April 22.
Most urgent: update Fall 2023 data to include stats by incumbency (as discussed above).
Estimate return customers for Fall 2024: Find out how many students are returning next fall at each site. This could be a simple google form to families with the fields: kid’s name, grade, afterschool, plan to return Fall 2024 (yes, no, maybe). It would be non-binding, but if DHSP published the data, it would give new families a sense of # spots that might be open.
No secret policies that only benefit those in the know!
Update all transportation info to be consistent with CPS policy. We have written about this many times before (example).
Similarly, if students who are in community schools are guaranteed a spot in any community school (not just their community school), say so. (We’ve heard this is true, but it’s not written down as far as we know.)
If King Open Extended Day has a sibling discount, make that transparent. (For KOED, we know through informal sources that the discount is a sizable 50% off for a 2nd kid.)
IEP data. For the first time, DHSP included a stat on students with IEPs: "Students with individualized education plans accounted for 15% of all offers and 18% of all enrolled students." Going forward, we’d love to know if the share of children with IEPs were given offers at lower/higher/same as kids without IEPs. And what share of children with IEPs who were given offers enrolled?
Summer camp update
As you may know, DHSP sent out camp placements last week.
Good news: This timing shows massive progress. In Summer 2022, notices came in June(!). We’d love to see this even earlier, but this is really helpful for families trying to plan their summers and survive the mad rush to find an affordable camp spot.
Bad news: DHSP has been especially tight-lipped on placements for families that either didn’t get placed at all, or didn’t get their top choice. Based on what families have shared with us:
DHSP won’t share how many children are on the waitlist by site or by grade. While ~300 children are on the waitlist across all youth center and DHSP summer camp sites, DHSP wont say how many children are on a waitlist by site. This makes it hard for parents to weigh their chances of getting off a waitlist.
DHSP also won’t tell anyone their individual place on the waitlist.
Back of the line dilemma. If you didn’t get your 1st choice and you don’t want to accept your alternate choice, you have to reject your spot and go to the end of the waitlist for your 1st choice. Your lottery # has no influence on your waitlist spot.
Want to be in the loop?
This is the link to subscribe for afterschool updates, if you got this email from a friend.
Please email Amanda amanda.beatty@gmail.com with any insights, questions, disagreements, or further thoughts.