Let’s Get Ready for “After School”

When the first bell of the 2024-2025 school year rings, it will also herald the start of after-school programs for Marco Island youths. 

Tommie Barfield Elementary School (TBE) and Marco Island Charter Middle School will offer organized programming, as will the YMCA of South Collier - Marco YMCA, for students in grades K through five. All three will provide the structured academic and recreational activities, snacks and safe environments that parents depend upon. 

At TBE, after-school services will again be provided by ASP After School Programs. The Broward County-based company offers pre-and-after-school programs for more than 10,000 children in Collier, Broward, Orange and Miami-Dade counties, as well as in Baltimore City, Maryland.

The program consists of homework assistance, literacy, mathematics, life skills and science discovery programs, and recreational and social activities. 

“The goal is to get kids that might normally go home and just be playing video games and to have them being socially active and involved in educational enrichment activities,” said Andy Butler, the ASP program’s area coordinator, who’s based in the company’s Naples office. “It's a fun, safe place for the children to come, and parents know where their children are and that they're safe.”

He said the site director and other staff members are all trained and screened and also credentialed at the county and state levels. They are joined by teachers from schools served by ASP.

The cost is $90 to attend all five daily sessions, and scholarships are available. 

“Parents just have to apply for them,” said Butler. “We have a sliding scale that we look at and we provide the scholarships based upon that.”

He asked that anyone wanting more information to register to contact him at abutler@aspkids.com or by calling 239-436-3960. 

Another option for parents of children in grades K through five is the YMCA of Collier County’s A.S.P.I.R.E. After School Program, provided at the Marco Y’s youth development center. The program sees A.S.P.I.R.E. staff accompany Tommie Barfield students on the walk from the school to the Y’s campus. 

A.S.P.I.R.E provides academic enrichment and homework assistance, structured outdoor activities, hands-on indoor activities, healthy snacks, and arts and crafts. 

The program's overarching goal is “to serve the community, providing a safe environment where children are engaged outside of school hours so that their parents can still work and to, overall, help enhance the family dynamic,” said Charlene Rose, youth and family director for the YMCA of Collier County.

It costs $75 to register a child. The monthly fee option is $225 for Y members and $275 for non-members. Paying yearly is $300 for members and $350 for non-members. Unlike the monthly option, the yearly plan covers school off-days, as well as the fall, winter, and spring breaks and the summer camp season. 

There’s also a Y-Walkers Program, which is $50 for members and $60 for non-members. This plan applies only to safe transport to the YMCA after school dismissal for families with children enrolled in other YMCA after-school programs, such as swim team, tennis, and youth sports.

Financial assistance is available, and Early Learning Coalition certificates are accepted. For more information on ELC, please call 213-1137 or visit their office located at 3050 Horseshoe Drive #231, Naples.

Registration must be done in person. A registration form is required for each child enrolled in the after-school program. The registration form can be found at https://ymcacollier.org/sft985/aspireregistration2022-23.pdf. Registrations will not be accepted over the phone and without the proper form completed. 

The Marco Y will also offer a preschool program for the 2024-2025 academic year. Open house and enrollment events will be held from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM on August 3 and from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM on August 8 at the Marco campus. The sessions will enable parents to meet the teacher, tour classrooms and to learn about the curriculum. For more information, please contact Donnalee Petit-Fort at 239-394-9622, ext. 140, or send an email to  youthdev@ymcacollier.org.

The Marco Island YMCA branch is located at 101 Sand Hill Street. For more information, please visit https://ymcacollier.org/ or call 394-9622, ext. 122, or send an email to  marcoyouth@ymcacollier.org.

At Marco Island Charter Middle School (MICMS), parents can opt for the Eagle Enrichment (E²) After School Program, which begins Aug. 19. The supervised program provides support, enrichment opportunities, and the opportunity to participate in after-school clubs and sports programs. 

Eagle Enrichment is new this year, said MICMS Principal Margo Heidenreich. 

“While we have always had a healthy after-school activities calendar, this is our first time to offer a supervised after-school program where students can get involved in the many aspects of MICMS,” she added. “Our Eagle Enrichment (E²) after-school program will provide students an opportunity to participate in extended academic support, clubs, sports, and enrichment programs designed for middle schoolers. We offer seven competitive after-school sports: volleyball, soccer, basketball, cross country, track, golf, and tennis. Clubs will include yearbook, scuba, ecology, gardening, theater, handbell, art, and more.

The cost for participation is $100 a quarter or roughly $12 a week, and scholarships are available. 

Parents can enroll by visiting micms.org. Under the Students tab at the top, click on E² After School Program. For more information, please visit https://www.micms.org/ or contact Paul Edentz, MICMS after-school coordinator, at asp@micms.org.