Tecumseh Local is excited to announce that next school year, Latchkey (before and after school care) will be offered at New Carlisle Elementary in addition to our current sites at Park Layne Elementary and Donnelsville Elementary. For the last several years, we have had to close PL Latchkey to new enrollments shortly after the start of the school year due to the high number of students using our Park Layne Latchkey. We surveyed all elementary parents a few months ago, and there was a strong interest in having latchkey available at New Carlisle. After thoughtful consideration, we have decided to move forward with offering this option to our families while ensuring the number of students at each school remains manageable.
Families with students at Park Layne Elementary may enroll their students in Park Layne Latchkey or in their “home” school's latchkey. (Either DN or NC). Families with students only at Donnelsville must use the Donnelsville latchkey location. Families with students only at New Carlisle Elementary must use the New Carlisle latchkey location. Parents will have the option to fill out a form requesting to enroll students at Park Layne if they can demonstrate a clear need. (i.e., the parent lives much closer to PL and works in a direction further away from NC or DN). The form titled “Latchkey Request for Site Change” will be available on the district website in July, and parents wishing to request the change will be asked to complete the form by August 1. A decision will be made no later than August 7, and parents will be notified. Preference will be given to families who currently use Park Layne Latchkey.
We hope this will alleviate the overcrowding at the Park Layne site and allow all families needing before and after-school care to use Latchkey in the district. As in the past, parents will enroll students in latchkey when completing Final Forms for the upcoming school year. Please do not attempt to enroll your child in Latchkey for the next school year now. Final Forms and latchkey enrollment will open in early July.
The cost of latchkey has remained the same for the last 10-plus years. However, due to rising costs of snacks, supplies, healthcare, salaries, etc., we will be increasing the hourly rate from $3.50 to $4 beginning next school year. Registration will increase from $10 to $15 for the first child in the family, with an additional $1 for each additional child. Families with two or more students attending latchkey at the same location will continue to receive a ten percent discount on their family bill.
Any family that has an outstanding balance after June 12 will not be allowed to enroll in latchkey for the 26/27 school year. Any family who failed to pay their bill in full every two weeks will also not be permitted to enroll in latchkey for the following year. Please realize that latchkey is a service we provide to families, but it must be self-sustaining and not detract from our main purpose of providing a quality education.
