Afterschool at Malcolm X for 22-23 school year?
We were disappointed to hear we had been waitlisted for LEARNS at MX for our incoming Kindergartener. I’m researching alternatives and had seen details for Berkeley City’s park programs online earlier this year. The webpage I had saved a few months ago is now bust and I don’t see mention of them on the Civic signup site. When is the signup window for these programs?
I’d also love to hear any stories of Kindergartners transitioning to bus riding by themselves without siblings. Our not-yet-5 year old has been caught up on and intimidated by that step as we talk through possibilities for August.
Thank you for your thoughts!
Jun 23, 2022
Parent Replies
All families are waitlisted for LEARNS when they first sign up. Last year nobody found out about LEARNS until August, but I hear it used to be in June - everything is chaos because of staffing shortages. We just finished K at MX and our son went to one of the city programs and rode the bus across town to Live Oak by himself. He was the only kindergartener who went from MX to Live Oak, but there were kids from his class who took the bus to other stops on the same route. It was seamless and he did fine - someone walked him to the bus and then someone from the afterschool program met him on the other end. We really liked the program at Live Oak, it's smaller than LEARNS so I think the kids get to form a nice little community there. The problem with the city programs is that not all programs get buses from all schools, so last year our choices were Live Oak or Willard. There was no bus to San Pablo but we had friends who went there and a few families took turns walking the kids over in the middle of the day. And sign-ups are really late, like a week or two before school starts, which felt very stressful. Good luck!
Hi -- I totally hear you, and was in your exact position last year. Here's what I learned: MX waitlists everyone for LEARNS initially, and then (uncomfortably) close to the school year, lets people in off the waitlist. If you signed up right when registration opens, you will likely get a spot at LEARNS. Feel free to reach out if you have questions. I have a rising first grader at MX who will also be in LEARNS.