# Kids After-School Programs



## zepedawingchun (May 5, 2011)

I run a small martial arts school out of my garage and thinking of expanding into a full time martial arts studio, in a public building, teaching both adults and kids.  I'm looking into offering a full time Kids After School program during the week.  So, in trying to determine how successful it may be and what to expect as far as initiating, running, and maintaining such a program, I have a few questions to those schools on the forum who actually run such programs.  I know there is a lot of work in running such a program, do's, don't, and pitfalls, but would like to know how successful/unsuccessful other schools are with such an endeaver.  You can PM me with your responses if in case you don't want to make the information public.  All responses will be kept confidential, so any insight would be greatly appreciated.  So here goes:

1) how old is your after school program and how many students do you have?
what month did you start? what was your initial response?

2) how did you select your location? (note: we will have the address of the
school on the website, so it will be a relatively easy job to identify
surrounding schools, distances, and populations) one thing that i didn't
think of b4 is what about the parents' community? how far do the typical
parents have to drive to pick the kids up? do they come from work? etc.

3) what educational grades/ages do you serve? how do you split the class?
what does a typical day look like? (i.e. play time, training time, study time, snacks,
etc.)

4) how many square feet do you have? how much is rent? have you made any
significant leasehold improvements?

5) how do you advertise? what is your budget?

6) how do you use the internet to contribute to your success?

7) do you have a relationship with local school officials? if so, how did
you get it? how does it work for you?

8) what have been your biggest problems? can you share your future plans?
how does the after school program feed into other programs (adult, womens'
self defense, competition, etc.)

9) what would you do differently if you could? is there any specific advise
you can give us?

Any advice or information would truely be appreciated.


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## jks9199 (May 5, 2011)

If you're going to run a daycare disguised as a martial arts program -- do it right.  Find out the requirements in your area for daycare licensing and meet them.  You'll be able to justify a higher fee -- and I bet you'll get better business.  I'd think it would be a great selling point; it'd matter to me for sure.  

I really wonder if some of these places are really close to being legal; they pick kids up at school, in vans or buses (are the drivers properly licensed to transport?  insured?) and they teach an hour or so of MA, coupled by a whole lot of time spent on who knows what.  And, in at least a few cases, most of the staff can't even communicate in English effectively...


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## jks9199 (May 5, 2011)

jks9199 said:


> If you're going to run a daycare disguised as a martial arts program -- do it right.  Find out the requirements in your area for daycare licensing and meet them.  You'll be able to justify a higher fee -- and I bet you'll get better business.  I'd think it would be a great selling point; it'd matter to me for sure.
> 
> I really wonder if some of these places are really close to being legal; they pick kids up at school, in vans or buses (are the drivers properly licensed to transport?  insured?) and they teach an hour or so of MA, coupled by a whole lot of time spent on who knows what.  And, in at least a few cases, most of the staff can't even communicate in English effectively...


I'd like to clarify something here; I don't have a problem with commercial martial arts, or with martial arts schools that provide after school services.  I DO have a problem with daycare thinly disguised as martial arts instruction that evades regulations and controls on daycare programs.  I've seen some really stupid things done in those places, and, quite honestly, wouldn't even consider putting my son into most of them.  Some teach martial arts quite well -- but the child care side of the business is worse than a joke.  (Like taking 20 kids to the park, with two adults to watch them, and only bringing 19 back.)

I've said many times that I really think that after school programs, be they martial arts, gymnastics, dance, or whatever, should be held to the same standards as any other daycare program.


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## bushidomartialarts (May 5, 2011)

JKS is right, and your state legislature might agree. Your first step (if you haven't already) is to find out the day care laws in your area.

I ran an after school program for seven years. PM me anytime.


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## zepedawingchun (May 6, 2011)

jks9199 said:


> If you're going to run a daycare disguised as a martial arts program -- do it right. Find out the requirements in your area for daycare licensing and meet them. You'll be able to justify a higher fee -- and I bet you'll get better business. I'd think it would be a great selling point; it'd matter to me for sure.
> 
> I really wonder if some of these places are really close to being legal; they pick kids up at school, in vans or buses (are the drivers properly licensed to transport? insured?) and they teach an hour or so of MA, coupled by a whole lot of time spent on who knows what. And, in at least a few cases, most of the staff can't even communicate in English effectively...


 
Therein lies the problem, everyone looks at it like daycare.  So after the 45 minutes or so of MA training, the kids are left to run wild and just do as they please. 

I, on the other hand, will look at it as martial arts training.  Before class, the kids will be monitored by several adults and made to act like people and not wild animals. Then, after their 60 minutes of MA training, they will be monitored by several adults and taken care of.  This running around with no control will not be allowed.  They will be structured, I promise you that.  When you send your kids to public school, you don't look at it like day care do you?  They're structured and taught something.  MA schools can do the same.

 I've taught kids classes in the past, so it will not be a problem.


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## lma (Sep 5, 2011)

I have been thinking of doing the same thing let us know how it goes ?


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## Fusion Taekwondo LLC (Nov 19, 2012)

Before opening your own space, have you thought about reaching out to schools? Many K-12 schools seek people who are willing to do an after-school program. This would be beneficial since you would not have to worry about owning your own space. I have done this with great success. Although the pay is not equivalent to a private program, it has its own benefits. We used after-school programs as a recruitment strategies. After we concluded our program we would give students and their parents a special offer to join our school.


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