Free after-school drop-ins ending at Sioux Falls Community Centers

District to replace current programming with fee-based after-school programming

Courtesy photo

A monumental shift in how Sioux Falls cares for its youth lies ahead.

The Sioux Falls School District later this year will take over after-school operations at a series of five community centers around town that for decades have been under the purview of the city of Sioux Falls.

And the shift in operational control at the five centers will also come with the elimination of the drop-in programming the city’s offered since the 1970s. Instead, the school district will use the centers to expand its Community Learning Center initiative, which offers enrollees after-school mentoring, tutoring, science, technology, art, music, sports and community service opportunities.

The move, pending votes of approval by both the Sioux Falls City Council and Sioux Falls Board of Education, is touted as a means to address daycare shortages in the community and advance both educational and park initiatives of both the city and school district.

But it also means the days of free after-school, drop-in care for families with school children are going away.

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