After-School Care Newsletter: What Principals Need to Communicate to Families

After-school care is the most logistically impactful program a school communicates about. For working families, the after-school care newsletter is not optional reading. It is the communication they plan their entire workday around. A principal who communicates about after-school care clearly, completely, and early enough for families to act removes one of the most significant daily stressors in a working parent's life.

The enrollment announcement: give families everything they need

A newsletter that announces after-school care enrollment but leaves families with questions is not useful. Every enrollment announcement should include:

• Hours: Start time, end time, and any daily variation (early release days, holidays, professional development days)
• Cost: Weekly or monthly rate, late pickup fee, and whether fees are charged for holidays or school closures
• Financial assistance: Whether a sliding scale, subsidy, or fee waiver is available and how to apply
• How to enroll:One specific step, with a link or contact, not just 'contact the office'
• Enrollment deadline: The specific date by which families must register to be guaranteed a spot

Describe what students do in after-school care

Families choosing after-school care are not only choosing supervision. They are choosing how their child spends two to three hours per day. A newsletter that describes the activities, homework support, and routine helps families make a more confident decision:

'Students in after-school care have a snack, a structured homework period, and then supervised activity time that includes outdoor play, arts activities, and organized games. Staff hold a counselor certification and maintain a ratio of one adult to fifteen students.'

Name the pickup procedure clearly

Pickup procedures for after-school care generate the most day-of confusion in any school program. State:

• Where pickup occurs (front office, gymnasium door, portable classroom)
• Whether families must sign their child out
• Who is authorized to pick up (based on enrollment forms)
• What happens if a family is late, including any fee

Communicate program changes with maximum notice

After-school care changes affect employment schedules. When the program changes hours, location, cost, or staffing, the principal should communicate through the fastest available channel the day the decision is made, with the newsletter following as documentation.

Daystage makes it easy to send both the enrollment newsletter and mid-year change notifications through the same platform, with enrollment links and deadline reminders built into the formatted message.