Tallahassee Afterschool

Program a Better Alternative

by Tony Miller

Grapevine Staff

Back in the 80s, I was a latch-key kid in a suburb of Boston.  There was always a segment on 20/20 or various other news shows about us.  In my case, my parents were divorced and my father lived in another state.  My mother had to work.  I had to come home to an empty house. 

I usually ended up having all the neighborhood kids over to watch R-Rated movies on cable, eat all our food or play rough in the backyard. When I got hurt – oh well! And this included:

• fracturing my knee
• getting a rusty nail through my foot
• getting locked out of the house in the rain or snow
• getting bit by a snake
• getting in fist fights (or physically picked on by a neighborhood bully)
• putting my fist through a pane of glass

... Among others... Not to mention the times we would go walk the railroad tracks to who knows where or go play on the (solidly?) frozen pond unsupervised.

There was no other option.  There was no afterschool care offered by my school system and my mom could not afford someone to watch us.  I assume, judging by all the other latchkey kids in my neighborhood, this was a universal situation.

Fast forward to modern times in Tallahassee - Afterschool care is available at the local elementary schools but not the middle schools. My kids ended up in afterschool care at their school because both parents worked. They hated it.

Basically, they went to the cafeteria and it was just a glorified study hall where they could do their homework if they were so inclined. If they needed help, they would wait until we got home and ask me for assistance. After they claimed to be done, they could either hang out talking to friends or go out on the playground. By the time we picked them up, they were starving and bored and ready to go home. It was inexpensive but I wondered if it was what was best for my children.  I felt like I would be better off just paying for a babysitter.

When the kids entered Middle School there was no afterschool program available.  They ended up at our office to wait until it was time to go home.  I would have them do homework, but it was hard for me to help them while I was working.  Typically, they would just sit and read a book for 2 hours straight.

They nagged me about going to an after school activity like dance or music lessons.  Not only was that option too expensive, I could not leave work, pick them up and bring each of them to different places and pick them up. 

There had to be a better alternative.

Carla Hutchinson,

Director of ARTS Afterschool

Not only do they accept kids age 5 all the way up to 15! they even pick them up from school. ARTS Afterschool also offers martial arts, dance, musical instrument, and art classes.  Each child chooses two of these and has 2 classes a week in each (One each day Mon thru Thurs with Friday reserved for Free Day.)  Each class is 50 minutes long.

Three times a week, the children attend life skills classes – teaching topics such as safety, finances, leadership, study skills and more.

My first thought was that I could not afford it on my salary.  But I was surprised to learn it was only $4.30 an hour! ($97 a week) That is less than a babysitter!  For this they get a ride, a snack, tutoring and classes with no extra hidden fees.

If I was to pay for a tutor every day, dance classes twice a week and guitar classes twice a week PLUS had to taxi them around to all these activities (thus missing work and Have you seen the price of gas?) – It would be hundreds of dollars each week!  Plus, my kids get the life skills classes as a bonus!

This was a no-brainer.

The best part is they are open until 7 (which means some evenings I could do some grocery shopping without child interference in the cereal aisle) and they are conveniently located in the same shopping center as Espositos Garden Center right on Capital Circle NE.

Space is limited and if you register before August 15th, they will waive the $75 sign up fee.  You can call Carla at 878-ARTS or register on their website at http://www.tallyarts.com/