Fox Valley Park District gets grant for after-school program

Selena Flores, 27, says she was always tired when she worked night shifts.

But she has young children — ages 3, 5 and 7, the youngest of whom recently started preschool — so switching to daytime work hours meant she and her husband needed an after-school child care option.

Recently, Flores got a job as an administrator at a restaurant in Naperville, she said. And it was an after-school program in the West Aurora School District, run by the Fox Valley Park District, that helped her navigate her job change.

“My life has done a real 180,” Flores said of his job change. She said she was able to see her children after work, go to bed earlier, spend her mornings helping them get ready for school, and then head to her job.

Flores is one of several West Aurora parents whose children are enrolled in the Fox Valley Park District’s new EPIC after-school program, which operates at four West Aurora District 129 elementary schools – Smith, Schneider, Nicholson and Hall.

The program is similar to one offered for more than a decade in the school district through a partnership with the park district called MyTime, Rachel Shields said. Shields is the director of the 21st Century Project in West Aurora, which means she works on grants for the district.

This program was free for parents and ran Monday through Thursday. It was funded by the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, a federal funding source.

The Fox Valley Park District received federal funds under a three-year grant cycle, which expired in June.

But uncertainty over the availability of federal funding prompted the park district to seek other funding sources to continue an after-school program in West Aurora, said Becky Harling, Fox Valley Park District recreation superintendent.

“The grant world … can be quite fluid at times,” Harling said. “You’ll have funding one year and not the next, and trying to ensure the stability of your program when you’re considering a grant can be a little tricky. »

According to a spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education, who emphasized that grant renewals are never guaranteed, this federal grant was intended to provide “start-up funds” for new after-school programs, rather than permanently funding existing ones. Applications for the fiscal year 2026 grant competition finally opened in October, according to the state board.

The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment on the grant.

So, not planning to rely on the federal funding source, the park district revised its after-school offerings in West Aurora, naming it EPIC, which stands for Explore, Play, Imagine and Connect.

The park district has instituted fees for the new program, including lower rates for eligible families based on their income, according to a news release. The district also applied for a grant from the Dunham Foundation, an Aurora-area nonprofit, Harling said, to potentially help cover program costs.

The EPIC program, which began at the start of the current school year, “looks a lot like” the previous MyTime program, Shields said. It includes nature and artistic activities, sport and fitness, school trips, as well as homework help.

It runs from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and is open to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The fact that the program also operates on Fridays is now a difference from the old program, Shields said.

Harling explained that the previous program was credential-based, but EPIC is open to all students. It is now also open to preschool children.

Some of the program’s staff – made up primarily of West Aurora employees – is also the same as the previous program.

“They know the students, they have relationships,” Shields said. “So that’s something we were all grateful for, that there wasn’t such a big change in all the new people.”

Implementing the new program in West Aurora without federal funding meant the park district began charging families for the program: an overhead fee of $240 per month, or discounted rates of $120 or $60 per month for qualifying families, depending on the park district.

But the park district ultimately received a $330,000 grant from the Dunham Foundation, meaning it now offers full scholarships to children who qualify at either reduced rate, including Flores’ children.

Flores said it’s difficult to find affordable daycare options.

“You get to a certain point where the benefit of being able to work 9 to 5 … still gives you some financial freedom,” Flores said. “Is this a feasible change? »

But with the EPIC program, she was able to take advantage of the half-price rate – and now her children are in the program for free thanks to the recent grant.

“I was over the moon,” Flores recalled when she learned she wouldn’t have to pay for the program for the rest of the year. “I cried like a baby at work…it’s not a lot of money that we were paying, but, you know, it can easily go toward extra groceries for the kids, extra school supplies for the kids, extra groceries for the week.”

Dunham Foundation President and CEO Vicki Morcos said in the park district’s press release that the organization “saw an opportunity to make a real difference in how families access after-school programs” when the park district approached them about the program.

“By funding full scholarships for families who need them most,” Morcos said, “we’re not just supporting a program – we’re investing in educational equity and ensuring that every student has the chance to explore, play, imagine and connect alongside their peers.”

Families can continue to register as the school year progresses, the park district says. It has a capacity of 250 students in the four West Aurora elementary schools where the program is offered. Currently, the Dunham Foundation grant is for 60 fellows, per park district.

Although her youngest is not yet eligible for the EPIC program, Flores said it’s “a weight off (their) shoulders” to have child care for her two older children — and they appreciate it.

“There are times when my husband comes to pick them up and they say, ‘We want to stay a little longer,'” she said. “You feel bad because you leave them in school for two or three extra hours, but at least you know they enjoy it.”

Harling also spoke about the value of the program for parents.

“Parents really rely on after-school programs,” she said. “I think being able to offer an after-school program where we have … quality, certified instructors to deliver it, I think that’s a real highlight for those parents.”

The program has been especially helpful for Flores’ family because most of her and her husband’s families live in Mexico, she said.

“We don’t have that usual person to rely on,” Flores said. “I don’t have a mother to watch my children or pick them up from school.”

So she is happy to have the opportunity to work as a parent.

“It’s an incredible thing that they’re doing, and they’re really, really changing people’s lives,” Flores said. “And helping parents in a time where a lot of parents are two-parent working households… you try to make it work as best you can.”

mmorrow@chicagotribune.com