More Eastern Iowa schools turning to Champions before- and after-school child care provider

Gazette - 9/2/2022

Sep. 2—CEDAR RAPIDS — It feels like "coming back home" for Kelsey Huston, the site director of the before- and after-school child care program Champions, at Van Buren Elementary in Cedar Rapids, the school she attended when she was a child.

The child care program, which is new to the Cedar Rapids Community School District this year, opens at 6:30 a.m. before school and stays open until 6 p.m. after school for working families.

Huston, who helps children with their homework and plans fun activities, said she is enjoying getting to know her students and what they like and dislike.

"You never know what a kid's story is," Huston said. "I want to make them feel welcomed and cared for. A child can never have too much love."

Champions — a national child care provider — is quickly expanding across Eastern Iowa. It is in three school districts in Iowa — Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Clear Creek Amana Independent — serving more than 1,200 students from preschool to middle school.

The Cedar Rapids Community School District is the most recent in Eastern Iowa to contract with Champions to provide before- and after-school child care. The school board in January approved a one-year agreement with the company for child care in all of its elementary and middle schools.

Champions also is providing wraparound services for preschool students at the new Truman Early Learning Center, which is a preschool program for 4-year-olds. The district previously did not have before- and after-school programming at all of its elementary and middle school buildings.

School districts are turning to the child care provider because officials view it as a good option for families as they see increasing demand for these services. It also takes the stress off the school district to adequately staff previously school-operated programs.

Kymberly Norrick, senior regional director of Champions, said before- and after-school child care programs are not school districts' "area of expertise."

"They do so many things for students during the school day," Norrick said. "If they are able to have an organization like Champions come in and be that support, it helps them focus on what they do best."

While staffing challenges are faced across many workforce industries, Champions has a leg up by being able to offer full-time benefits to part-time employees, Norrick said. The program also "invests" in its employees by providing long-term career opportunities and professional development for them to be able to better support students and families, she said.

"We are always hiring," Norrick said. "We're never going to turn away a qualified candidate."

The program has a low student-to-teacher ration. For every 15 students in programs for kindergarten to eighth-graders, there is one teacher. At the preschool level, there is one teacher for every 12 students.

Champions area manager Mona Williams said families there are in "great need" — especially in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City — of financial assistance.

"Affordability is something that's really important to our organization," Norrick said. "We want to make this a place for people to not have to question, 'Can I afford to put my child in a safe place after school?'"

Students who qualify for free and reduced lunch can receive 25 percent to 100 percent in tuition savings. A 10 percent discount is offered to siblings, families who use both before- and after-school care and school district employees, said Kristin Pedersen, director of community relations for the Iowa City Community School District.

The Iowa City school district began contracting with Champions in 2018, when two schools were in need of a before- and after-school provider, Pedersen said in an email to The Gazette. Since then, the program has expanded to five buildings and is in two additional schools providing before- and after-school care to preschool programs.

The two biggest barriers families say they face regarding before- and after-school care and summer child care is cost and transportation, Pedersen said. The program also provides full-day summer camps and remains open on non-school days and extended school breaks, she said.

Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com

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