The Shenendehowa Central School District is still finalizing its enrollment, but many parents, particularly those who are interested in a universal prekindergarten program the district launched last year, have been asking about the availability of after care, said Sara Schneller, the district’s director of Student Learning and Data Accountability. Schneller noted that before- and after-care availability does not impact a spot in the UPK program.
We will discuss with them and learn more.” “We have three sites that offer programming, and it’s possible that if they are having difficulty finding staff we might be impacted. “As of right now, we are not aware of any programming issues or impact,” said Karen Corona, the Schenectady City School District’s director of communication and public information. Responses from school districts have been mixed, with some - such as Duanesburg and Schalmont - saying they are in constant communication with the YMCA to get a handle on the before-and after-school-staffing situation, and other districts expressing surprise. However, the YMCA relied on staff from administrative offices to fill some positions last year, Anastasio said. Last school year, the YMCA provided before- and after-school care for 1,672 students, and no programs opened late, according to Emily Lang Anastasio, director of marketing for the Capital District YMCA. “This year, I think we were cautiously optimistic that coming out of the pandemic and it being more endemic, that we would see folks more interested in working for the YMCA.” “Since the pandemic, this has been our norm,” Siebert said. The current staffing shortage at this point in the summer is consistent with what the YMCA saw during the first two years of the pandemic, she said. Staffing for before- and after-care has long been a fluid process that stretches deep into the summer, but the pandemic has only made hiring more difficult, Siebert said. Class sizes are also capped, depending on each age group. The New York State Office of Children and Family Services requires one teacher for every eight 4-year-old students, one for every nine 5-year old children, one teacher for every 10 school-age children through age 9, and one for every 15 children ages 10 to 12. Families with questions about programming in their districts can contact the Y directly. The YMCA operates programs in the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Galway, Shenendehowa, Bethlehem, Guilderland, East Greenbush, Mohonasen, Albany, Schalmont, Glenville-Scotia, Schenectady, Schodack, Coxsackie and Duanesburg school districts, and the impact of the staffing shortage will vary from district to district, according to the YMCA. The positions are hourly, ranging in pay from $13.20.hour to $19/hour, and candidates as young as 16 can apply. To meet this demand while operating with the required, state-set staff-to-children ratios, the YMCA needs to hire more than 130 staff members, Siebert said. The Capital District YMCA, which operates before- and/or after-school programs at about 40 sites across 14 school districts, currently has between 1,350 to 1,450 students enrolled in morning and afternoon programs for the upcoming school year, Siebert said.