Y Asks Why Town Pulled After-School Program

The YMCA is losing its spot in Hamden schools, and its supporters aren’t happy about it.

For 31 years, the Hamden/North Haven YMCA has provided before- and after-school programming at Hamden’s elementary schools. The Hamden Board of Education voted in April to sign a contract with a different vendor, so the Y has been booted out, at least for the next school year.

At a meeting on April 16, the BOE voted to approve a contract with Right At School for new before and after school programs at all of Hamden’s elementary schools. Right At School, a for-profit company based in Evanston, Ill., provides extracurricular programming. Board members had heard a presentation that the company made to Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) earlier in the year and decided that it might be good to bring the program to Hamden.

Right At School’s programming will replace the program the YMCA already runs at Hamden’s elementary schools. The YMCA has begun to put up a fight.

On May 21, Central Connecticut Coast YMCA President and CEO David Stevenson showed up to a BOE meeting with his Hamden/North Haven staff.

“I’d like to ask you to reconsider that program,” he told the board. He said that he had found out about the board’s vote from a community member the week after it happened.

The YMCA is a non-profit charity-oriented organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap, he said. ​“A for-profit company is not going to do that.”

On Wednesday, the YMCA sent out an email to its Hamden/North Haven families with the subject line ​“The Future Is In Your Hands, Will You Help Us?” The email explained that the board had approved a contract with Right At School, and asked parents to call Hamden officials to ​“share your personal YMCA experience.” It included a list of the names and phone numbers of every BOE member, every elementary school principal, the superintendent, and the mayor.

The board signed a one-year contract with Right At School. Once the year is up, it will decide whether to continue with Right At School or go back to the Y.

“The proof is in the pudding,” said BOE Member Arturo Perez-Cabello. ​“If the pudding’s good, we’ll continue with this pudding. If it’s not, we’ll shift to a different flavor, and maybe it’s the old one improved.”

For the Y, coming back might not be so easy. ​“If the Y discontinues its program,” said Stevenson, ​“it’s a real challenge to rebuild a program a year later.”

“Taken For Granted”

The YMCA has been providing before- and after-school programs at Hamden’s elementary schools for 31 years, but has never had a formal agreement with the district. A lack of competition that would challenge that long-standing tacit agreement, said some board members, meant that the Y’s programming began to fall behind what the district desired.

“It was one of these longstanding verbal relationships that never was challenged before, and a lot of people took a lot of things for granted,” said BOE Chair Chris Daur.

Superintendent Jody Goeler said that a variety of factors motivated the board and the administration to try a different program provider. One reason, he said, was flexibility. Parents can decide what they need, he said, and pay only for that amount of care. Families will be able to sign up for one, two, three, four, or five days a week. They will also be able to pay for however many, and whichever, weeks they need.

Hamden/North Haven YMCA District Executive Director Darryl Brackeen, Jr. said that the board was ​“greatly misinformed” about the options for flexibility in the YMCA’s programming.

“If there is space available and a family calls, we can learn more about what that family needs and place them,” said Central Connecticut Coast YMCA Marketing and Communications Director Donna Lisitano. ​“If there’s space, they’re welcome.”

A brochure with information about the Y’s programming says that parents can call to ask about fees for enrolling their kids for three or four days a week. It does not mention anything about one- or two-day-a-week options.

Goeler said that another reason the district wants to try Right At School is to have a program in every elementary school. The Y provides after-school programs at Bear Path, Dunbar Hill, Helen Street, Shepherd Glen, Spring Glen, and West Woods, and a before-school program at Shepherd Glen. Students from Church Street must be bussed to Helen Street if they want to enroll. No program is currently available to students at Ridge Hill.

Hamden/North Haven YMCA Childcare and Camp Director Erin Kelly said that which programs the Y provides where depends on demand. The caps on enrollment in existing programs, said Brackeen, are a result of limits on space and state licensing requirements.

Right At School has committed to providing programs at every elementary school in the district. Goeler said that there were not enough students at Church street who wanted to sign up to have a program at the school this year. Church Street is one of Hamden’s lowest-income schools; many parents who send their children there work and need before- and after-school care, he said.

“I feel I owe it to the Church Street community to be able to do a before-and after-school program,” he told the Independent.

Goeler said that Right At School’s programming is another draw. It does a lot of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math), social-emotional learning, and homework help, so that when parents pick their children up at the end of the day, ​“it doesn’t become homework boot-camp,” he said. He added that it trains its staff well.

The Y’s program also provides homework help.

Goeler said that over the years, the district became dissatisfied with the Y’s programs. When he met with the former president two years ago to address some of his concerns, he said, he was told that ​“this is how we do it; this is the best we can do for you.” After that meeting, he said, nothing changed.

Before voting to approve the contract, Goeler said, he asked every elementary school principal in the district whether they would prefer Right At School or the Y. Every principal, he said, told him they would rather try Right At School’s program.

BOE Member Arturo Perez-Cabello said that the majority of the parents he has talked to about the Y’s programs ​“have been sort of in the middle.” He said that many have told him that they were ​“not impressed [by the Y] but they had to do it” because it was the only option. Many fewer, he said, had told him they had had good experiences.

Right At School’s program is also cheaper, unless a family is a member of the Y. For non-Y-members, a month of the Y’s after-school program costs $415 ($325 for Y members), while a month of Right At School’s after-school program is $340. Right At School’s before-school program costs $219 per month, while non-Y-members pay $259 for the Y’s. (Y members pay $189.)

Many families in the Y’s program don’t pay full price. Stevenson said that between 25 and 40 students in Hamden received financial assistance or a scholarship last year. Hamden’s program currently has 189 students. Though the Y does not offer full scholarships, Stevenson said that some scholarships were quite large.

Right At School also offers financial assistance to those families that need it. Director of School Partnerships Dan Carter said 3 percent of revenue is paid back to the district to provide scholarships. In addition, students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch get 20 percent off.

Jobs At Stake

The Hamden/North Haven YMCA provides a number of services for Hamden youth. In addition to its before- and after-school programs, it offers a summer camp, and it provides free swim lessons for every Hamden second-grader. It recently took over an after-school program at the Keefe Community Center in Hamden. Goeler said that the district is also considering partnering with the Y to provide a leadership course for middle and high schoolers.

“I believe one of the core programs — one of the best ways we can impact kids’ lives — is the before- and after- school programming,” said Stevenson.

By bringing in another program provider, he argued, the district will disrupt the relationships that students and families have built with Y staff. Many staff members, he said, have been with the Y for many years.

“If there’s one word to sum it up, it’s consistency,” said Brackeen. ​“That’s our philosophy.”

The Y also brings students to its facility on Sherman Avenue in Hamden once a week to swim. Right At School, said Stevenson, will not be able to do that.

Stevenson said that the YMCA gets revenue from three sources: voluntary contributions, membership dues, and program fees. ​“A majority of the revenue,” he said, ​“would come from program fees.”

He added that the YMCA employs 41 people in Hamden, many of whom live in Hamden and are important members of the community. ​“If another provider is chosen, that would have an impact on those 41 individuals,” he said.

Daur said that the board probably will not consider changing its mind about the contract with Right At School this year. After the year is up, he said, it will reassess.

The Y appears determined to convince the board to reconsider. In its email to families, it asked that parents show up to the BOE meeting on June 11 to testify for the Y.