Seeking feedback on Alameda Afterschool Programs

My daughter is 7 and she goes to USA Kung fu aftercare. She generally likes it. It's not a big group of kids; most of them take classes at the studio. My daughter like Ms. Hong, the Mandarin Chinese teacher, as well as Sam, the owner of the studio.

The schedule matches AUSD and the program runs to 6 everyday. Pickup from school is included in the fee. We like that because other places charge extra. It's also one of the few places that had openings. All the programs at my child's school (Otis) seem to be full already or they don't go on for as long.

Congratulations on this new member of your family! I hope that everything is going smoothly as possible. My son is at Edison, and he goes to "Alameda Island Kids" which is Girls inc.'s afterschool program on site. It has worked well for us - we were happy he didn't have to travel anywhere for the program, and he gets to run around as well as play with legos and other games. It isn't very structured, so sometimes it feels a little too loud and overwhelming, but the teachers are all nice, and it is relatively affordable. I think that it might not be a good fit for a quiet kid who needs a more controlled environment or gets overstimulated easily. For us, our son couldn't really handle more programmed activities - I believe USA Kung Fu's program involves significant academic work which would be too much for him after school- so it works well for us. The RAP program is also affordable, but from what I have seen the counselors are all quite young students and I wasn't totally impressed with the level of supervision in big open parks. It might be OK for a 9 year old but I was nervous my kiddo would wander off and they wouldn't notice! I don't know about the other programs you mentioned. Good luck!

Hi, another Alameda parent here.  My son did both the AEF (Alameda Educational Foundation)/Girls Inc offerings at his school and the Park Department after school programs.  Both offered good variety of things to do.  AEF offered more enrichment-type classes like sewing or carpentry.  He enjoyed those a great deal, but they tended to end early before most people would be home from a typical job and commute.  I had a mother's helper to pick him up and sit with him until I got home.  The Park and Rec program went longer and was more unstructured.  They sort of hung out at the park/park building and played.  Sometimes there might be some crafts or games, but mostly free form. 

The advantage for me is both were close to our home and school (Park was next to school) and they were familiar environments for my son and we didn't need to arrange rides or pick ups.  

Reply or PM me if you have more specific questions.