South Carolina after-school programs face enrollment barriers despite high demand

SOUTH CAROLINA, SC (WMBF) - More South Carolina parents want their kids in after-school programs, but a newly released report highlights major roadblocks.

According to a report from Afterschool Alliance, more than 430,000 parents in South Carolina want their children enrolled in an afterschool program, but only 18 percent of parents who desire afterschool care can do so.

However, only 1 in 6 of those children have access to after-school care, leaving more than 350,000 missing out.

The America after 3 PM report highlights cost, transportation, location, and access as the major factors preventing parents from enrolling their kids.

The Racepath Community Learning Center serves the surrounding Myrtle Beach areas and is expanding, allowing it to take in more students.

Racepath Community Learning Center CEO Dr. Karen Vassell said that after-school programs can change the trajectory of a student’s life.

“After-school programs help with attendance, grades, and, believe it or not, student confidence,” Vassell said. “What we do is fill in the gaps that maybe the parents don’t have after school, so we fill in that supplemental support from school to home.”

Vassell said they are also participating in the nationwide Lights on After School “Light Bulb” challenge associated with the Afterschool Alliance.

The challenge includes students coloring light bulbs, highlighting their favorite parts about after-school, as a way to shed light on the needed support and importance of the programs.

“Some of the students even highlighted that their parents did not attend after-school programs and sometimes heard their parents got in trouble,” Vassell said. “Our students are like we’re in an after-school program so we don’t get in that much trouble. So, they already understand the benefits.”

Vassell said she and her siblings were in after-school programs growing up, so she knows firsthand the impact it has on children.

“It helped build confidence and how to make friends and get along with others,” Vassell said. It also helped to navigate different opportunities within the world, so I think it set up a strong foundation for me and my other siblings to be successful in life.”

Vassell mentions the importance of having after-school care within communities like Racepath to help with travel burdens.

She said students get a warm meal each day after school, so once parents pick them up, their children are fed, and homework is already done.

Vassell said they strive to make their program affordable since she believes that is the biggest issue stopping parents from seeking after-school care.

The YMCA of Coastal Carolina also added 11 new Afterschool Rising Star Programs this fall in Horry County.

Horry County Schools’ spokesperson said that currently, all elementary schools have an after-school care option.

According to the report, under 80,000 kids in South Carolina are currently enrolled in after-school programs.

Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WMBF. For more free content like this, download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.