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Commissioners will be updated on the Parks and Recreation Department’s Child Care Program Enrollment Capacities (Angela Duldulao, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that Commissioners be updated on the Parks and Recreation Department’s Child Care Program Enrollment Capacities.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The Recreation Division of the Parks and Recreation Department oversees child care programs via two program areas - Preschool and Early Learning (ages 2.5 to 5 years old) and Youth Enrichment Services (5 to 12 years old). Under these programs, the Department operates several child care sites and programs as follows:
• Three licensed preschools for children 2.5 to 5 years old:
o Siebecker Preschool, 510 Elm Court (capacity of 55 children)
o Westborough Preschool, 2380 Galway Drive (capacity of 59 children)
o Little Steps Preschool - grant-funded by the Big Lift Initiative, 520 Tamarack Lane (capacity of 20 children)
• Four licensed after school recreation programs (ASRP) for school-age children Transitional Kindergarten (TK) - 12 years old:
o Buri Buri ASRP, 325 Del Monte Avenue (capacity of 180 children)
o Monte Verde ASRP, 2551 St. Cloud Drive, San Bruno (capacity of 200 children)
o Ponderosa Elementary, 295 Ponderosa Road (capacity of 160 children)
o Spruce ASRP, 501 Spruce Avenue (capacity of 30 children)
• Two programs State-funded by the After School Educate & Safety (ASES) Program, called the REAL (Recreation, Enrichment and Learning) Program* designed for academic support for school age children Kindergarten - 12 years old:
o Los Cerritos REAL Program, 201 Orange Ave, (grant funded for 50 children)
o Martin REAL Program, 35 School Street, (grant funded for 50 children)
*The ASES grant also includes the Homework Club program at the Community Learning Center.
• Summer Camps (9 weeks)
o Orange Memorial Park Traditional Camp (capacity of 100 children per week)
o Ponderosa Traditional Camp / TK, Tween, and Teen Camps (capacity of 133 children per week)
o Sports Camp (capacity of 50 children per week)
o Terrabay Specialty Camp (capacity of 50 children per week)
o Police Academy Camp (capacity of 18 children per week)
• Spring and Winter camps for children Kindergarten - 12 years old (capacity of 100 children per day)
Waiting List Status
The spring through summer months is a time of transition as child care staff review a plan for outgoing students and plan to fill newly available spaces as children move into new grade levels with the new school year.
Preschool - The Department currently has about 530 families on the waitlist for Siebecker and Westborough Preschools, however, not all children on the list are eligible to attend. Some are under 2.5 years old, not yet potty trained, families are choosing to wait for children to turn 3 or 4 before entering preschool, or families are selective over which preschool site they would like to attend. There are just under 200 age-eligible children currently on the waitlist. It should be noted that the number of families on the waitlist is not indicative of need as families may already be enrolled in other programs while they wait for a spot to open up. Some parents choose to add their babies to the waitlist to improve their chances of gaining a space once their child becomes eligible to attend. The Department currently has 9 available spaces at the Little Steps Preschool. 10 of the 20 spaces at Little Steps Preschool are subsidized by a grant from San Mateo County’s Big Lift initiative. This allows the Department to assess eligible families a fee on a sliding scale, with most families attending for free.
After School Recreation Program and REAL Program - For the 2025-2026 school year, all programs are full and have active waiting lists ranging from the low of 4 students at Los Cerritos to a high of 46 students at Monte Verde.
Summer Camps - Most programs for summer 2025 are full with the exception of some spaces remaining in Tween Camp and Police Academy Camp. Waitlist numbers vary widely depending on the week (i.e., 4th of July week typically has less demand) and type of program (i.e., cooking camp is very popular). The average number of children on the waitlist per week is about 59, with a range between 2 to 114 children. It should be mentioned that waiting list numbers include children who are already enrolled in camp but may be on the waitlist for another more desirable camp during the same week. For example, a child may be enrolled in Ponderosa Traditional Camp but are also on the wait list for a specialty dance camp at Terrabay.
Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP)
Administered by the South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD), the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) has provided new after school care spaces at all of SSFUSD’s nine elementary school sites and three middle school sites. This includes expansion into transitional kindergarten (TK). ELOP provides after school care for 180 days of school as well as 30 non-school days. Non-school days may include teacher in-service days, Winter and Spring Break, and some out of school days in June. SSFUSD has partnered with the following community organizations to provide extended care for eligible ELOP students:
• City of South San Francisco
• CAM EDU
• District Extended Day Activities Program (DEDAP)
• Daly City Recreation Services
• Right at School
• Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula at Orange Park
Since the 2023-2024 school year, the City has been contracted to serve 120 ELOP students (TK-5th grade) at its six afterschool program sites (Buri Buri, Ponderosa, Monte Verde, Spruce, Los Cerritos, and Martin Elementary Schools). The City has been able to enroll over 180 students per district request. The MOU for school year 2025-2026 is currently being negotiated and SSFUSD has asked the City to take on more students in the new school year, to possibly around 200 students. The School Board is expected to review MOUs with ELOP providers at a meeting in June. ELOP has expanded availability of after school care in South San Francisco by approximately 400 students. While the SSFUSD has shared that approximately 1,400 students are eligible, many families are not utilizing this program.
Applications for free and reduced lunch for the 2025-2026 school year opens on July 15, 2025. This eligibility will inform ELOP enrollment for the new school year.
For summer 2025, the Department will be operating four weeks of summer camp for ELOP students at Monte Verde Elementary School from June 2, 2025 through June 26, 2025. This camp has a capacity for 115 students and is currently enrolled with an average of 72 students per week.
Notable Initiatives
Westborough Preschool Expansion - The City is currently in the design phase of a five-classroom preschool at Westborough Park that will increase enrollment by 40 preschool spaces. Two of the classrooms are being flexibly designed to accommodate a toddler program (serving a younger age group of 18 to 36 months) should the City wish to pursue a toddler program component. Construction completion is estimated to be in late 2027 or early 2028. The facility design includes five classrooms that each have a teacher support area as well as child toilet room and storage. Also designed in this facility are a food prep area, staff lounge, project/meeting room, open admin space, office space, entry lobby, mom’s room, outdoor play area that includes a covered outdoor classroom space, and much more. The proposed area for this project is on the north side of the park. Part of the construction will include relocating the park bathroom and creating a new maintenance truck route to access the park as well as a new ADA pathway to access the upper portion of the park.
Workforce Pipeline Development - The City is currently reviewing an MOU to partner with Izzi Early Education to provide internship sites for teachers entering the field. In October 2024, San Mateo County issued a request for proposals to increase the number of local credentialed early childhood educators with an emphasis on impactful, countywide services that address the range of challenges to entering and progressing in the field. Izzi was one of three contractors that received Measure K funds to provide a pipeline for new and advancing credentialed staff. They have an existing Child Development Associate (CDA) program that has been addressing the Early Childhood Education (ECE) workforce shortage and providing opportunities to community members, including parents of Izzi’s students, interested in furthering their education and pursuing ECE careers. The program on average takes students 6 weeks to complete the online CDA course work, inclusive of completing all mandatory trainings including CPR and mandated reporter training. CDA students must then complete 480 internship hours. It is the hope of the City that once these students complete their internship hours, they can join our workforce at our preschool sites as paid employees. The City Preschool and Early Learning Program expects to take on two students through this partnership.
CONCLUSION
This report is being provided in a response to the Commission’s desire to understand the Parks and Recreation Department’s child care program enrollment capacities. Staff will be available at the meeting to review this information and respond to questions.