Choosing the best after-school care is a crucial decision many parents need to make for their children. Debbie Degollado, Vice President of Youth Development of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio, understands this and discusses how the YMCA After-School Care program not only engages students in fun activities but assists in academic support.

How did the YMCA After-School Care program begin?

Degollado: The Y has been offering after-school programs for 40 years, since 1983. Our director at that time was Sallie Luedke who saw that parents and guardians needed to work and there were latch-key kids, a term used at the time, going home alone. So we started a couple of programs in the Judson school district and the North East school district. I joined the team a year later and it has morphed into this large after-school program.

What makes the YMCA After School Care program stand out from other programs?

Degollado: When the first program began, our goal was to provide high-quality affordable care and help support our families to make sure we have a safe place for their kids to be after school. All of our programs are on school campuses. Being on a campus where kids don’t have to take another means of transportation to get to another program is ideal. So it just gave the parents that peace of mind that they could continue their work, or school, or whatever they needed to do, during the out-of-school hours.

We give the students some academic support with homework completion and reading. There is snack time, arts and crafts, STEM activities and group games. Reports we get from the San Antonio School District show that kids who participate in our after-school programs do better academically and score higher on tests.

We are licensed by the state just like any other childcare center. The state monitors our programs and audits staff files. For us, it’s another level of safety and another set of eyes that helps to make sure our programs are run appropriately.

How many students do you currently work with?

Degollado: We’re serving around 4,000 kids right now. And we maintain a 1:15 staff/child ratio. We have 68 programs for after-school care right now. Most of these are elementary but we are partnering with some of our middle schools. We’re in San Antonio, New Braunfels, Schertz, Cibolo, Boerne and La Vernia. And we have a couple of private charter schools that we partner with as well.

What are the training requirements for the staff?

Degollado: All of our staff are CPR certified and trained in first aid. We have a minimum 20 clock hours of training annually consisting of a variety of topics from developmental ages and stages, guidance and discipline, child abuse prevention, group games and STEM activities.

We partner with the colleges and universities to recruit staff. It’s a great part-time job especially for those wanting to be education majors. A lot of our folks will work with us until they hit that student-teacher opportunity and then go into teaching.

What else do you want parents to know about the YMCA After School Care program?

Degollado: We want to make sure that our programs are available to everyone. So we provide scholarships for those families who can’t afford the program, or provide a reduced rate. They have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship either online or in person. We don’t want to turn anyone away if they can’t pay.

We really want to help prepare our children for the future. It’s been a rough few years. Some children are dealing with social anxieties, depression and those kinds of things. We give them a safe place where they know they can go have fun, unwind, meet new friends and feel comfortable. I think that’s really important.

Want to learn more about the After School Care program at the YMCA of Greater San Antonio? Or, interested in making a donation to send a kid to After-School Care? Visit ymcasatx.org. All proceeds help families access high-quality child care.

The above story was produced by Community Impact's Storytelling Multi-Platform Journalist Victoria Schaefer with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.