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Before School/Extended Day Programs

2023-2024 Program Information & Registration Link

Before School/ExtendedDay Programs2023-2024 Program Information & Registration Link

***The 2023-2024 Online School-Specific Registration Links

can be found at the bottom of this newsletter.***


Registration for NEW families opens on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 8:30 AM and closes at 11:59 PM on Sunday, June 25, 2023.

A lottery for enrollment for NEW families will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.


Registrations received after the June 25, 2023, deadline will be added to our waitlist on a first-come, first-served basis.

Important Information the 2023-2024 Before School & Extended Day Programs

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING REGISTRATION FOR THE 2023-2024 BEFORE SCHOOL & EXTENDED DAY PROGRAMS:


  • Registration for NEW families opens on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 8:30 AM and closes at 11:59 PM on Sunday, June 25, 2023. A lottery for enrollment for NEW families will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. Registrations received after the June 25th deadline will be added to our waitlist on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Registration will be online via Google Form. There is a one-time, non-refundable registration fee of $100.00 per child to activate your student’s registration. This fee is due by Monday, July 24, 2023. Please see the below in this newsletter for payment instructions. The links to the school-specific registration forms can be found at the bottom of this newsletter.
  • If, following the lottery for enrollment, your student is offered a space in the 2023-2024 Before School and/or Extended Day Program their first full month’s tuition payment will be due by Monday, July 24, 2023, to confirm and secure their enrollment. If a $100 registration fee is due, it can also be paid at this time. (Scroll down to view details regarding the lottery for enrollment and where and how to make a payment).



2023-2024 GENERAL PROGRAM INFORMATION:


Watertown Community Education and The Before School and Extended Day Programs:

  • Watertown Community Education, a department of Watertown Public Schools, offers optional, fee-based Before School and Extended Day Programs for WPS students in kindergarten through Grade 5.
  • The Before School and Extended Day Programs are available to Kindergarten students beginning on their first full day of school.
  • The Before School and Extended Day Programs are not academic programs. These are social and play-based programs offering students a schedule of activities each day that include a balance of structured and unstructured time. We offer arts and crafts, movement activities, group-based activities that are both student- and teacher-led, and free playtime with a variety of toys and materials. Students enrolled in the Extended Day Program will spend time outdoors daily, weather permitting.


Program Hours for The Before School and Extended Day Programs:

  • The Before School Program runs from 7:15 AM – 8:05 AM. Students can be dropped off anytime time within these hours. Kindergarten students enrolled in the program will be walked to their daytime kindergarten classroom or meeting area at 8:05 AM each day.
  • The Extended Day Program runs from 2:30 PM – 6:00 PM. Students can be picked up anytime during these hours.


2023-2024 SCHEDULE & TUITION INFORMATION:


Enrollment options for The Before School Program:

  • 5 day per week enrollment (only registration option)


Enrollment options for The Extended Day:

  • 5 day per week enrollment
  • 3 day per week enrollment (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays)
  • 2 day per week enrollment (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • * No exceptions can be made to the days included in these enrollment options.
  • * Priority will be given to registrations for 5-day per week enrollment.


Tuition for The Before School & Extended Day Programs:

  • Tuition is paid on a monthly basis and is broken down into 10-equal monthly payments. Your first month’s payment is due in advance, by Monday, July 24, 2023, to secure and confirm enrollment.
  • We do not offer scholarships or reduced rates based on income. Child care vouchers are not accepted for these programs.

How to Register for Watertown Community Education's 2023-2024 Before School and Extended Day Programs:

  1. The link to register for the 2023-2024 Before School & Extended Day Programs will be available to new families beginning Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 8:30 AM. There is no option for paper or in-person registration. If you do not have access to a computer/internet, please reach out to Debi Cornelius debora.cornelius@watertown.k12.ma.us to make an appointment to come to the school to register using one of our computers. The initial registration period runs from June 1, 2023, through June 25, 2023, and is not first-come, first-served. Families that register during this time will be entered into a lottery for enrollment. (The registration form will remain live from June 26, 2023, however, any student registered beginning June 26, 2023, or later, will automatically be added to the end of the program waitlist and will not be included in the lottery for enrollment. Please read through this section for additional details).

  2. You must complete an online Google Form registration form for each student you wish to register for the program. ***The registration link can be found at the bottom of this newsletter.***

  3. Registrations for both the Before School and Extended Day Programs will be entered into a lottery for new student enrollment according to the schedule you are registering for and your student’s grade level. Priority is given to students registered to attend 5-days per week. Students registered to attend 3 days per week (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) are matched up with other students in their same grade level with 2 day per week schedules (Tuesdays and Thursdays) to ensure the remaining spaces in our groups are enrolled efficiently with equal enrollment on each day of the week to the extent possible.

  4. If you are registering more than one student, all students in your family/household will be considered one lottery space when placing your students in our programs. We will place siblings at the same time to the best of our ability and to the extent possible according to their individual grade/grouping availability.

  5. If your student is a new student to the Before School and/or Extended Day Program or a new sibling of a returning student, please note that a $100.00 non-refundable registration fee will be charged for each new student you are registering. This registration fee will be due by Monday, July 24, 2023. If your student is offered a space in our program, the registration fee can be paid along with their first month’s tuition by July 24th. If your student is waitlisted for our program, your registration fee must be paid by July 25th to maintain active waitlist status. You will only be charged one registration fee per student. If you register your student for both the Before School Program and the Extended Day Program, the single, $100.00 registration fee will cover both programs. Registration fees are non-refundable. Instructions for how to make payments are listed in the How to Make a Payment section below.

  6. Once you submit your registration form, you will receive an email from the email address “Google Forms” that will provide you with a copy of the online registration form you submitted. Please check this form and the information you submitted thoroughly to ensure it accurately reflects the program and schedule you are registering for. **Sometimes this email from Google Forms may go to your junk mail/spam folder.** This email also serves as confirmation that you successfully registered your student for the program and so long as you completed the form prior to 11:59 pm on June 25, 2023, your student will be entered into the lottery for enrollment.

  7. Once a registration form is submitted, parents are responsible for emailing any schedule corrections to their form to both Debi Cornelius debora.cornelius@watertown.k12.ma.us AND Jeff Bodner jeffrey.bodner@watertown.k12.ma.us prior to 11:59 PM on June 25, 2023. After 11:59 PM on June 25, 2023, any corrections to your initial registration form will be considered a registration change. Registration changes after the June 25th deadline will nullify your original registration. You will need to submit a new registration and your student will be placed at the end of our program waitlist.

  8. Following the lottery and once a student is offered a space, schedule changes (from one set schedule option to another set schedule option) cannot be made. Registration changes after the June 25th deadline will nullify your original registration. You will need to submit a new registration and your student will be placed at the end of our program waitlist.

  9. If you wish to cancel your student’s enrollment prior to the first day of school, you must submit your request to withdraw from the program in writing to both Debi Cornelius debora.cornelius@watertown.k12.ma.us and Jeff Bodner jeffrey.bodner@watertown.k12.ma.us, no later than Monday, August 21, 20223, to receive a full refund of your first month’s tuition payment you left to secure your student’s enrollment. Any registration fees paid are non-refundable. If you do not provide written notice by August 21, 2023, your student’s enrollment for September cannot be canceled. Requests to withdraw from the program effective during the month of September 2023, will not be accepted. Any requests to withdraw received between August 22, 2023, through September 15, 2023, will go into effect beginning October 2, 2023.

  10. The lottery for enrollment will take place on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. The lottery will not be held live as there are multiple variables. Process: Watertown Community Education will enter registered students from each family/household into a lottery according to the school and program for which they registered. Watertown Community Education will pull student/household names for each program using a random list generator such as Random.org. Students will be placed according to their lottery position, schedule, then the availability in their age/grade grouping. Families will be notified via email on or before July 10th if their student(s) received a confirmed space or if they were waitlisted.

  11. If your child is offered a space in a program, the first full month’s tuition must be paid by Monday, July 24, 2023, to indicate your acceptance of the space. If full payment is not received by Monday, July 24, 2023, it will be assumed that you have forfeited your space and your student will be placed at the end of our program waitlist.

  12. If your student is waitlisted you can expect to receive an update on their waitlist status on or before Friday, August 11, 2023.


If you have any questions regarding Watertown Community Education's Before School and/or Extended Day Programs, please contact

Debi Cornelius at debora.cornelius@watertown.k12.ma.us or

Jeff Bodner at jeffrey.bodner@watertown.k12.ma.us or 857-241-8499.

How to make a payment for Watertown Community Education Programs

When is tuition due?

  • Tuition for the Before School and Extended Day Programs is due on the 10th of the month each month for the upcoming month. If the 10th falls on a day that school is not in session, payment will be due on the school day preceding the 10th.

  • Tuition for the Before School and Extended Day Programs is broken down into 10- equal monthly payments with the first payment due on Monday, July 24, 2023 (or within 2 business days of being offered a space in the program if offered a space after July 24, 2023).

  • Tuition will not be prorated due to absences, holidays, snow days, and/or any other days school is closed for any reason or a student is unable to attend.


What is the tuition payment schedule?

  • 2023-2024 Tuition Payment Schedule:

    • Payment #1 (September): Due July 24, 2023, or within 2 business days of being offered a space in the program (if offered a space after July 24, 2023) *registration fee is due in addition to the tuition on this date for new students

    • Payment #2 (October): Due Friday, September 8, 2023

    • Payment #3 (November): Due Tuesday, October 10, 2023

    • Payment #4 (December): Due Friday, November 10, 2023

    • Payment #5 (January): Due Friday, December 8, 2023

    • Payment #6 (February): Due Wednesday, January 10, 2024

    • Payment #7 (March): Due Friday, February 9, 2024

    • Payment #8 (April): Due Friday, March 8, 2024

    • Payment #9 (May): Due Wednesday, April 10, 2024

    • Payment #10 (June): Due Friday, May 10, 2024


What form of payment is accepted?


How do I make out my tuition payment check or money order?

  • Check or money order should be made payable to the City of Watertown.

  • Payments for the Before School and Extended Day Programs must be made separately.

  • For all payments, please make sure to include your student’s full name and program code on the memo line. Program codes are as follows:

    • Before School Program - BSP

    • Cunniff Extended Day Program - CEDP

    • Hosmer Extended Day Program - HEDP

    • Lowell Extended Day Program - LEDP


Where do I submit my first tuition payment to confirm my student’s space in the program and/or my registration fee?

  • Payment #1 can be made online using City Hall Systems https://epay.cityhallsystems.com/selection or by check or money order.

  • If submitting your tuition payment online using City Hall Systems https://epay.cityhallsystems.com/selection, select the program your student will be attending and the tuition schedule you are submitting payment for. If you are paying your registration fee online, please select the program your student will be attending and then select Custom Tuition Payment, and enter in the $100.00 payment in the Amount field. Tuition payments and registration fee payments should be entered into your online payment cart one individually. Once all payments you are planning to make have been added to your payment cart, you can make one payment for the full contents of your payment cart.

  • If submitting your payment via check or money order, your payment should be dropped off in the payment box located in the Phillips Administration Building parking lot. You can find this parking lot by putting 31 Marshall Street into your gps. The payment drop-off box is located next to the stairs leading into the building from the parking lot. Click here for a photo of the payment box outside of the Phillips Administration building.


Where do I submit payments once the program starts?

  • Payment #2 - #10 can be submitted using online using City Hall Systems https://epay.cityhallsystems.com/selection or by check or money order. If paying by check or money order, you payment should be submitted to your school program’s Extended Day Site Coordinator when picking up your student from the program on or before the payment due date. Please do not send payment in with your student or leave your payment in the school’s main office.


Is it okay to submit payment for all of my students in one payment?

  • It is okay to pay tuition for one or more students attending the same program by adding individual payments into the online City Hall System payment cart or on one check or money order. Please make sure to include each student’s name on the memo line in addition to their program code.


What happens if I am late submitting my tuition payment?

  • If tuition (payment #2 - payment #10) is not paid in full by the listed due date, a late fee of $10 per student will be charged the next school day. If tuition has not been received within 5 school days of the original payment due day, a second $10 per student late fee will be charged 5 school days following the original payment deadline. If tuition has not been received by the last school day of the month of the original payment due date, your student(s)’s enrollment in the program will be canceled and their space in the program will be offered to the next student on the waitlist. If you wish to re-enroll them in the future, the past due tuition must be paid and a new registration fee per student will be assessed. Your student will no longer have priority in the program and will be placed at the end of our program waitlist.


Will I receive a monthly bill for tuition?

  • Watertown Community Education does not issue monthly invoices. We will send tuition payment reminder emails.


Will I receive a receipt?

  • Watertown Community Education does not automatically send payment receipts. If you need a receipt you can reach out to your school’s Extended Day Site Coordinator or the Director of Community Education in writing (email is fine) to request a receipt.


Is there any financial aid, scholarships, or tuition assistance available?

  • Watertown Community Education does not offer sliding fee scales, financial aid, or scholarships. Child care vouchers are no longer accepted.


What is the tax ID# for the Before School and Extended Day Programs?


  • City of Watertown - Watertown Public Schools - #04 6001 340