Registration for after-school child care in the Juneau School District opened last Friday, but the information the district provided to families did not line up with the actual application process. The district will cease to operate the Relationships and Leadership Learning for Youth program, known as RALLY. It will be operated by Auke Lake Preschool beginning in September.
The district announced that registration for RALLY would begin Aug. 1 on Auke Lake Preschool’s website. But enrollment information and registration links for RALLY weren’t available then and are still not active as of Monday afternoon.
Auke Lake Preschool’s co-owner Derik Swanson said in an email to KTOO that families should instead submit a preschool application that is available on its website with a note that it is for RALLY. He said to add a first and second choice for site preference to the application as well.
Lauren Sanzone has been sending her children to RALLY since 2022 and tried to register this week. She said it’s stressful but they want to continue using RALLY for afterschool care. She’s also working on a backup plan for child care.
“I am fortunate that I have a good paying job and I have the privilege of being able to pay for childcare, but I also don’t have confidence that I could even find an alternative at any price that would provide consistent afterschool care for my kids,” she said.
The district said RALLY will run at Auke Bay Elementary School, Harborview Elementary School and Sítʼ Eetí Shaanáx̱ – Glacier Valley Elementary School. The district said in a frequently asked questions page that Auke Lake Preschool will maintain the same monthly cost as the district.
The district-run summer child care program is scheduled to end this Friday, but the district will continue to provide transitional care for children enrolled in Auke Lake’s program until the end of the month. The district has not provided details on the transitional care.
The new RALLY program is expected to officially open Sept. 1.
