ExCEL Enrollment Form
SFUSD ExCEL After School Program is pleased to offer daily after school programs for students at all SFUSD elementary and middle school sites and two high school sites. Each school site selects a community-based organization to operate the ExCEL program and provide high quality afterschool experiences for our students.
Purpose of the Programs
The purpose of the after school program investment is to provide students with academic enrichment opportunities which are designed to compliment students’ regular academic program and provide a safe environment for students. After school programs are designed in collaboration with the schools that the students attend and in alignment with SFUSD guidelines.
How are the programs funded?
All of the SFUSD ExCEL After School Programs in elementary, TK-8, and middle schools are available at low or no cost to families thanks to state and federal grant funds as well as SFUSD's Expanded Learning Opportunity Program funding and the Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF).
SFUSD ExCEL After School Programs in high schools are available at low cost to families at high schools who qualify for state, federal and local grants.
In SFUSD, ExCEL After School Programs are operated through a contract with a Lead Agency, Community Based Organization provider who operates the program in partnership with the school day, funded by a combination of family fees, city, state and federal grants that have a range of requirements and are subject to change from year to year.
While SFUSD is committed to expanding after school programming to meet the needs of all students, the California Department of Education (CDE) also has specific requirements related to Expanded Learning Opportunity Program funding that include providing access to focal populations. For competitive grants like ASES and 21st Century, the California Department of Education (CDE) selects the school sites that receive grants, determines the grant amount, and the number of students served by the grant.
In addition to the local, state and federal grants, Jamestown Community Center also contributes resources, both in-kind and in-cash, in order to serve more families and/or provide more enrichment opportunities for students.
Each school site receiving after school funding is required to:
1. Operate an after school program with an end time 9 hours after the start time of school. (ie. an 8:40 start school would end after school at 5:40). For ASES and 21st CCLC-funded sites, program must operate at least 15 hours/week and until 6pm each day. For ASSETs-funded sites, programs must operate at least 15 hours a week.
2. Provide academic, enrichment, recreation and physical activities
3. Provide a nutritious meal
4. Operate with student-to-staff ratio that will not exceed twenty-to-one (20:1) for grades 1-12 and 10:1 for grades TK/K
Priority for Program Slots
If the demand for ExCEL Programs at a school site exceeds the program capacity,
based on California Ed Code, priority enrollment goes to students who are identified by the program as:
Youth experiencing homelessness
Youth in foster care
Low income youth
English language learners
Students who attend the school site location of the after school program
Early Release for the Program:
Per State grant guidelines, enrolled elementary & middle school students are expected to attend the program every day until 6pm. Early release from the program can be arranged. Whenever you pick up your child, prior to the end of program, please be aware that the staff are REQUIRED to give you a code to use on the ExCEL Sign Out Sheet.
Fee based Programs - All ExCEL after school programs in elementary and middle schools are fee based programs. SFUSD has a district wide co-payment fee structure for ALL ExCEL elementary/TK-8 and middle after school programs.
The monthly co-payment fee will be waived for a family with a child in the program who is a homeless youth or for a child who is in foster care
The monthly co-payment fee will be waived for a family that is eligible for Free or Reduced lunch except for those co-payments required by local, state or federal tuition subsidy programs. Families should complete the SFUSD Meal Application on an annual basis to be eligible for the monthly co payment fee waiver. If a family completes the application online, an eligibility letter can be printed from a family’s online account. If a family completes a paper application, an eligibility letter will be sent to the house.
A family that is not eligible for free/reduced lunch may pay a co-payment fee on a sliding scale from $50 - $634.25/month.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Unlike the school day, which is required to comply with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the after school program must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Services and activities provided by a public entity to the public, whether directly or through an agency, must be accessible to students with disabilities with reasonable accommodations (e.g. federal, state and local disabilities rights such as Section 504). Enrollment in program can include a query if student needs additional supports, but cannot use that information to influence enrollment. If a student has a 504 plan or Individual Educational Program (IEP) plan, the ExCEL program may request access to that information in order to identify what reasonable accommodations can be made to support students' access to program.
Safe and Supportive Environments- Interventions and Support for Behavior
In collaboration with the school day, ExCEL programs must ensure policies and protocols within its program that are sufficient to ensure staff, student and family member safety. ExCEL programs are required to document injury, referral and crisis situations. Each agency will share their interventions and supports for behavior with staff, students and families. Interventions and supports for behavior should include universal practices across the program to promote a safe and supportive community and include an internal process for managing challenging behavior that may result in alternative consequences (e.g. Restorative Circles), Tier II intervention (e.g. behavior contract), or break from the program.
The Safe and Supportive Schools Resolution (SFUSD Board Policy 5144)
The most effective alternative to suspension is the prevention of concerning behaviors through the intentional creation of a positive, relationship-based school community. Through the Safe and Supportive Schools Resolution, SFUSD has committed to providing staff with tools to positively engage students through full implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (SWPBIS) and Restorative Practices (RP), including Trauma-informed Practices that establish high behavior expectations of students in a bias free and culturally competent school community. SFUSD is committed to supporting students through behavior interventions and alternatives to dismissal, suspension or other sanctions that require removal from the educational setting in all cases except those where the immediate safety of students or staff is threatened or the behavior in question is such that the disruption to the educational environment can only be remedied by removal.
Overview of the Three Tiered Behavioral Matrices
SFUSD has worked with school and community stakeholders to develop three tiered behavioral matrices, required by Board Policy 5144 (Discipline) and 5144.1 (Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process) to offer alternatives to suspension referral. These matrices outline interventions for students that can be used to address unwanted student behaviors, and were designed to address disproportionate suspension of African American and Latinx students by helping school sites to identify appropriate and effective alternative approaches to punitive discipline. There are 3 different matrices included in the SFUSD Student and Family Handbook organized based on the types of student behavior being addressed.