Each elementary school has unique needs for arrival/dismissal and different procedures for the safety and well-being of students, based upon their unique campus design and percentage of walkers, car riders, and bus riders which creates the need for specific begin/end times for before and after-school activities.
Effective April 7, 2022, schools and vendors were notified that they should ignore the assigned classroom shown on the permit for before and after-school activities. CUPF stopped asking schools to provide room numbers and simply began allowing schools and vendors to work out those intricacies. Vendors are then assigned a room by the school, regardless of what the permit shows. Schools may make changes and let the group know upon their arrival if necessary. If the school desires a slight start time adjustment, the group may stay for the same amount of time scheduled but starting at the time in which the school advised based upon their dismissal process. There is no need to notify CUPF. CUPF will no longer track the room numbers and exact start and end times for after-school enrichment activities. This is to allow schools and groups reasonable flexibility in order to promote successful before and after-school activities. This flexibility remains in place for the 2022-2023 school year.
CUPF is providing additional guidance below surrounding the beginning time and ending time as we enter a new school year:
- Reservations may only begin on the hour and half-hour in the scheduling software; however, elementary schools have a variety of times they need before and after-school activities to begin and end. CUPF supports the necessity of schools having a great deal of flexibility in this regard as noted above.
- If a before or after-school program has reserved 4:00-5:00 (1 hour) but the school needs the group to be flexible in order to accommodate dismissal of students, groups and schools will need to work together on what exact time the group may enter the room. In the example above, if the school wants the group to begin at 3:45, then the program may run 3:45-4:45 since the group paid for an hour of use. Similarly, it could be that the school wants the program to begin at 4:10, and this is another example of reasonable expected flexibility. CUPF does not need to be notified of this change unless there is more than a 30-minute change in time.
- For use of facilities such as Gymnasium, Media Center, All-Purpose Room, or Cafeteria, groups may only use the facility reserved and should not be placed in any other room(s) other than where they are scheduled; however, the beginning and end time guidelines above are applicable.
If a school sees a before or after-school activity on the schedule that the school is simply not able to accommodate at all, the school should notify CUPF to cancel the permit. CUPF will advise the vendor and the vendor will notify the parents of students that the school is not able to accommodate the enrichment program.
Important Notes
- This does NOT apply to Licensed Childcare.
- This does NOT apply to evening or weekend activities.
- This flexibility in room assignment and begin/end times ONLY applies to space for before and after-school enrichment activities for students at their home school during the first 60-90 minutes before or after the official school day for students.
Collaboration is Key
As clearly identified herein, CUPF is committed to being flexible and endorses schools collaborating with vendors providing before and after-school enrichment programs on rooms and times as long as the vendor has a reservation showing on the school schedule. It is imperative that vendors be flexible. Similarly, the expectation is that schools also be flexible. TOGETHER, we can make a difference in the lives of our students and families by ensuring that before and after-school enrichment activities are successful.
Have Questions?
If you have any questions or concerns, please email CUPF at: cupf@montgomerycountymd.gov
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